Systems, Devices, and Methods for Multi-Purpose Robots

ABSTRACT

Systems, devices, and methods for training and operating (semi-)autonomous robots to complete multiple different work objectives are described. A robot control system stores a library of reusable work primitives each corresponding to a respective basic sub-task or sub-action that the robot is operative to autonomously perform. A work objective is analyzed to determine a sequence (i.e., a combination and/or permutation) of reusable work primitives that, when executed by the robot, will complete the work objective. The robot executes the sequence of reusable work primitives to complete the work objective. The reusable work primitives may include one or more reusable grasp primitives that enable(s) a robot&#39;s end effector to grasp objects. Simulated instances of real physical robots may be trained in simulated environments to develop control instructions that, once uploaded to the real physical robots, enable such real physical robots to autonomously perform reusable work primitives.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present systems, devices, and methods generally relate tomulti-purpose robots and particularly relate to robots that are capableof at least semi-autonomously completing multiple different workobjectives.

BACKGROUND Description of the Related Art

Robots are machines that may be deployed to perform work. Robots maycome in a variety of different form factors, including humanoid formfactors. Humanoid robots may be operated by tele-operation systemsthrough which the robot is caused to emulate the physical actions of ahuman operator or pilot; however, such tele-operation systems typicallyrequire very elaborate and complicated interfaces comprisingsophisticated sensors and equipment worn by or otherwise directedtowards the pilot, thus requiring that the pilot devote their fullattention to the tele-operation of the robot and limiting the overallaccessibility of the technology.

Robots may be trained or otherwise programmed to operatesemi-autonomously or fully autonomously. Training a robot typicallyinvolves causing the robot to repeatedly perform a physical task in thereal world, which can cause significant wear and tear on the componentsof the robot before the robot can even be deployed to perform usefulwork in the field.

Brief Summary

A method of operation of a robot (wherein the robot includes at leastone processor and a non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor, thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing a library ofreusable work primitives and processor-executable instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot toautonomously perform the reusable work primitives in the library ofreusable work primitives) may be summarized as including: initiating afirst work objective; initiating a first workflow to complete the firstwork objective, the first workflow comprising a first set of reusablework primitives selected from the library of reusable work primitives;and executing the first workflow, wherein executing the first workflowincludes executing the first set of reusable work primitives. The methodmay further include: initiating a second work objective that isdifferent from the first work objective; initiating a second workflow tocomplete the second work objective, the second workflow comprising asecond set of reusable work primitives selected from the library ofreusable work primitives, wherein the second workflow is different fromthe first workflow and at least one common reusable work primitive isincluded in both the first workflow and the second workflow; andexecuting the second workflow, wherein executing the second workflowincludes executing the second set of reusable work primitives. Themethod may further include: initiating at least one additional workobjective that is different from both the first work objective and thesecond work objective; initiating at least one additional workflow tocomplete the at least one additional work objective, the at least oneadditional workflow comprising at least one additional set of reusablework primitives selected from the library of reusable work primitives,wherein the at least one additional workflow is different from both thefirst workflow and the second workflow, and wherein at least one commonreusable work primitive is included in all of the first workflow, thesecond workflow, and the at least one additional workflow; and executingthe at least one additional workflow, wherein executing the at least oneadditional workflow includes executing the at least one additional setof reusable work primitives.

The robot may include a telecommunication interface communicativelycoupled to the at least one processor, and initiating a first workobjective may include receiving instructions related to the first workobjective via the telecommunications interface and/or initiating a firstworkflow to complete the first work objective may include receiving thefirst workflow via the telecommunications interface. Initiating a firstwork objective may include autonomously identifying, by the robot, thefirst work objective. Initiating a first workflow to complete the firstwork objective may include autonomously identifying the first set ofreusable work primitives by the robot.

The robot may include at least a first physically actuatable componentcommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor and the library ofreusable work primitives may include a set of reusable work primitivesperformable by the first physically actuatable component. Initiating afirst workflow to complete the first work objective may includeinitiating a first set of reusable work primitives that includes atleast one reusable work primitive from the set of reusable workprimitives performable by the first physically actuatable component.Executing the first workflow may include executing, by the firstphysically actuatable component, the at least one reusable workprimitive from the set of reusable work primitives performable by thefirst physically actuatable component. The first physically actuatablecomponent may be operative to grasp objects and the set of reusable workprimitives performable by the first physically actuatable component mayinclude a set of reusable grasp primitives performable by the firstphysically actuatable component. Initiating a first set of reusable workprimitives that includes at least one reusable work primitive from theset of reusable work primitives performable by the first physicallyactuatable component may include initiating a first set of reusable workprimitives that includes at least one reusable grasp primitive.Executing, by the first physically actuatable component, the at leastone reusable work primitive from the set of reusable work primitivesperformable by the first physically actuatable component may includeexecuting, by the first physically actuatable component, the at leastone reusable grasp primitive.

Initiating a first workflow to complete the first work objective mayinclude initiating a first permutation of a first combination ofreusable work primitives from the library of reusable work primitives.Executing the first set of reusable work primitives may includeexecuting, by the at least one processor, the processor-executableinstructions stored in the non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium to cause the robot to autonomously perform the first set ofreusable work primitives.

A robot may be summarized as including: a body; at least one physicallyactuatable component mechanically coupled to the body; at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the at least one physicallyactuatable component; and at least one non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor,the at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumstoring a library of reusable work primitives and processor-executableinstructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause therobot to: initiate a first work objective; initiate a first workflow tocomplete the first work objective, the first workflow comprising a firstset of reusable work primitives selected from the library of reusablework primitives; and execute the first workflow, wherein executing thefirst workflow includes executing the first set of reusable workprimitives. The processor-executable instructions, when executed by theat least one processor, may further cause the robot to: initiate asecond work objective that is different from the first work objective;initiate a second workflow to complete the second work objective, thesecond workflow comprising a second set of reusable work primitivesselected from the library of reusable work primitives, wherein thesecond workflow is different from the first workflow and at least onecommon reusable work primitive is included in both the first workflowand the second workflow; and execute the second workflow, whereinexecuting the second workflow includes executing the second set ofreusable work primitives. The robot may further include atelecommunication interface communicatively coupled to the at least oneprocessor to receive at least one set of instructions from a groupconsisting of: instructions related to the first work objective andinstructions related to the first workflow. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium may further store processor-executableinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe robot to autonomously identify the first workflow to complete thefirst work objective.

The library of reusable work primitives may include a set of reusablework primitives performable by the at least one physically actuatablecomponent, and the processor-executable instructions that, when executedby the at least one processor, cause the robot to execute the first setof reusable work primitives, may cause the at least one physicallyactuatable component to perform at least one reusable work primitive.The at least one physically actuatable component may include an endeffector that is operative to grasp objects and the set of reusable workprimitives performable by the at least one physically actuatablecomponent may include a set of reusable grasp primitives performable bythe end effector. The processor-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, cause the at least onephysically actuatable component to perform at least one reusable workprimitive, may cause the end effector to perform at least one graspprimitive.

A computer program product may be summarized as including: a library ofreusable work primitives; and processor-executable instructions and/ordata that, when the computer program product is stored in anon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of a robot system andexecuted by at least one processor of the robot system, the at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium, cause the robot system to: initiate afirst work objective; initiate a first workflow to complete the firstwork objective, the first workflow comprising a first set of reusablework primitives selected from the library of reusable work primitives;and execute the first workflow, wherein executing the first workflowincludes executing the first set of reusable work primitives. Thecomputer program product may further include: processor-executableinstructions and/or data that, when the computer program product isstored in the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of therobot system and executed by at least one processor of the robot system,cause the robot system to: initiate a second work objective that isdifferent from the first work objective; initiate a second workflow tocomplete the second work objective, the second workflow comprising asecond set of reusable work primitives selected from the library ofreusable work primitives, wherein the second workflow is different fromthe first workflow and at least one common reusable work primitive isincluded in both the first workflow and the second workflow; and executethe second workflow, wherein executing the second workflow includesexecuting the second set of reusable work primitives. The computerprogram product may further include processor-executable instructionsand/or data that, when the computer program product is stored in thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of the robot system andexecuted by at least one processor of the robot system, cause the robotsystem to autonomously identify the first workflow to complete the firstwork objective.

A method of operation of a robot to grasp an object is described. Therobot performing the method may be summarized as including: a robotichand having multiple fingers and an opposable thumb; at least oneprocessor operative to control actuations of the robotic hand; at leastone sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; and anon-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupledto the at least one processor, the non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium storing a library of reusable grasp primitives andprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robotic hand to autonomously perform thereusable grasp primitives in the library of reusable grasp primitives.The method may be summarized as including: collecting data about theobject by the at least one sensor; analyzing the data by the at leastone processor to determine a geometry of the object; selecting, by theat least one processor, a particular reusable grasp primitive from thelibrary of reusable grasp primitives based, at least in part, on thegeometry of the object; and executing, by the robotic hand, theparticular reusable grasp primitive to grasp the object. Executing, bythe robotic hand, the particular reusable grasp primitive to grasp theobject may include executing, by the at least one processor,processor-executable instructions that cause the robotic hand toautonomously perform the particular reusable grasp primitive to graspthe object.

The at least one sensor may include at least one optical sensor.Collecting data about the object by the at least one sensor may includecollecting optical data about the object by the at least one opticalsensor. Analyzing the data by the at least one processor to determine ageometry of the object may include analyzing the optical data by the atleast one processor to determine the geometry of the object.

Selecting, by the at least one processor, a particular reusable graspprimitive from the library of reusable grasp primitives based, at leastin part, on the geometry of the object may include selecting, by the atleast one processor, the particular reusable grasp primitive that bestfits the geometry of the object relative to all other reusable graspprimitives in the library of reusable grasp primitives. Selecting, bythe at least one processor, the particular reusable grasp primitive thatbest fits the geometry of the object may include selecting, by the atleast one processor, the particular reusable grasp primitive thatemploys a configuration of the multiple fingers and the opposable thumbof the robotic hand that best accommodates the geometry of the objectrelative to all other reusable grasp primitives in the library ofreusable grasp primitives.

Selecting, by the at least one processor, the particular reusable graspprimitive that best fits the geometry of the object may includesimulating, by the at least one processor, the robotic hand grasping theobject with each reusable grasp primitive in the library of reusablegrasp primitives to determine which particular reusable grasp primitivein the library of reusable grasp primitives best fits the geometry ofthe object relative to all other grasp primitives in the library ofreusable grasp primitives.

The method may further include analyzing additional data about theobject by the at least one processor to determine at least oneadditional parameter of the object. In this case, selecting, by the atleast one processor, a particular reusable grasp primitive from thelibrary of reusable grasp primitives based, at least in part, on thegeometry of the object may include selecting, by the at least oneprocessor, the particular reusable grasp primitive from the library ofreusable grasp primitives based, at least in part, on both the geometryof the object and the at least one additional parameter of the object.The method may further include collecting the additional data about theobject by the at least one sensor, wherein the additional data about theobject is selected from a group consisting of: a hardness of the object,a rigidity of the object, an identity of the object, a function of theobject, and a mass of the object. The robot may further include at leastone receiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor andthe method may include receiving the additional data about the object bythe receiver.

The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium may further storedata about a work objective to be performed by the robot, the workobjective involving grasping the object. In this case, selecting, by theat least one processor, a particular reusable grasp primitive from thelibrary of reusable grasp primitives based, at least in part, on thegeometry of the object may include selecting, by the at least oneprocessor, the particular reusable grasp primitive from the library ofreusable grasp primitives based, at least in part, on both the geometryof the object and the data about the work objective to be performed bythe robot.

A robot may be summarized as including: a body; a robotic handmechanically coupled to the body, the robotic hand having multiplefingers and an opposable thumb; at least one processor operative tocontrol actuations of the robotic hand; at least one sensorcommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor; and anon-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupledto the at least one processor, the non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium storing a library of reusable grasp primitives andprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robot to: collect data about the object;analyze the data to determine a geometry of the object; select aparticular reusable grasp primitive from the library of reusable graspprimitives based, at least in part, on the geometry of the object; andexecute the particular reusable grasp primitive to grasp the object. Theprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robot to execute the particular reusable graspprimitive to grasp the object, may cause the robotic hand toautonomously perform the particular reusable grasp primitive to graspthe object. The at least one sensor may include at least one opticalsensor, and the processor-executable instructions that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the robot to collect data about theobject, may cause the at least one optical sensor to collect opticaldata about the object.

The processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the robot to select a particular reusablegrasp primitive from the library of reusable grasp primitives based, atleast in part, on the geometry of the object, may cause the robot toselect the particular reusable grasp primitive that best fits thegeometry of the object relative to all other reusable grasp primitivesin the library of reusable grasp primitives. The processor-executableinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe robot to select the particular reusable grasp primitive that bestfits the geometry of the object, may cause the robot to select theparticular reusable grasp primitive that employs a configuration of themultiple fingers and the opposable thumb of the robotic hand that bestaccommodates the geometry of the object relative to all other reusablegrasp primitives in the library of reusable grasp primitives.

The processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the robot to select a particular reusablegrasp primitive from the library of reusable grasp primitives based, atleast in part, on the geometry of the object, may cause the robot tosimulate the robotic hand grasping the object with each reusable graspprimitive in the library of reusable grasp primitives to determine whichparticular reusable grasp primitive in the library of reusable graspprimitives best fits the geometry of the object relative to all othergrasp primitives in the library of reusable grasp primitives.

The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium may further storeprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robot to analyze additional data about theobject to determine at least one additional parameter of the object. Inthis case, the processor-executable instructions that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the robot to select a particularreusable grasp primitive from the library of reusable grasp primitivesbased, at least in part, on the geometry of the object, may cause therobot to select a particular reusable grasp primitive from the libraryof reusable grasp primitives based, at least in part, on both thegeometry of the object and the at least one additional parameter of theobject. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium may furtherstore processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the atleast one processor, cause the robot to collect the additional dataabout the object, where the additional data about the object is selectedfrom a group consisting of: a hardness of the object, a rigidity of theobject, an identity of the object, a function of the object, and a massof the object. The robot may further include at least one receivercommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium may further storeprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robot to receive the additional data about theobject.

The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium may further storedata about a work objective to be performed by the robot, the workobjective involving grasping the object. In this case, theprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robot to select a particular reusable graspprimitive from the library of reusable grasp primitives based, at leastin part, on the geometry of the object, may cause the robot to selectthe particular reusable grasp primitive from the library of reusablegrasp primitives based, at least in part, on both the geometry of theobject and the data about the work objective to be performed by therobot.

A computer-implemented method of initializing a robot to complete amultitude of work objectives may be summarized as including: defining alibrary of reusable work primitives each performable by the robot,wherein respective combinations and permutations of reusable workprimitives from the library of reusable work primitives are initiatedand executed by the robot in order to complete respective workobjectives; and training the robot to autonomously perform each reusablework primitive in the library of reusable work primitives.

Training the robot to autonomously perform each reusable work primitivein the library of reusable work primitives may include training therobot to autonomously perform each reusable work primitive in thelibrary of reusable work primitives in a simulated environment. Trainingthe robot to autonomously perform each reusable work primitive in thelibrary of reusable work primitives in a simulated environment mayinclude: generating a first simulated instance of the robot in thesimulated environment; repeatedly executing processor-executableinstructions to cause the first simulated instance of the robot toperform a first reusable work primitive in the library of reusable workprimitives; and refining the processor-executable instructions thatcause the first simulated instance of the robot to perform the firstreusable work primitive based on at least one result of repeatedlyexecuting the processor-executable instructions to cause the firstsimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive. Training the robot to autonomously perform each reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives in a simulatedenvironment may further include: generating at least one additionalsimulated instance of the robot in the simulated environment; repeatedlyexecuting processor-executable instructions to cause the at least oneadditional simulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusablework primitive in the library of reusable work primitives; and refiningthe processor-executable instructions that cause both the firstsimulated instance of the robot and the at least one additionalsimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive based on at least one result of repeatedly executing theprocessor-executable instructions to cause the first simulated instanceof the robot and the at least one additional simulated instance of therobot to perform the first reusable work primitive. In someimplementations, training the robot to autonomously perform eachreusable work primitive in the library of reusable work primitives in asimulated environment may include: repeatedly executingprocessor-executable instructions to cause the first simulated instanceof the robot to perform at least one additional reusable work primitivein the library of reusable work primitives; and refining theprocessor-executable instructions that cause the first simulatedinstance of the robot to perform the at least one additional reusablework primitive based on at least one result of repeatedly executing theprocessor-executable instructions to cause the first simulated instanceof the robot to perform the at least one additional reusable workprimitive.

Training the robot to autonomously perform each reusable work primitivein the library of reusable work primitives may include: receivingteleoperation instructions that cause the robot to perform a firstreusable work primitive in the library of reusable work primitives;executing the teleoperation instructions to cause the robot to performthe first reusable work primitive in the library of reusable workprimitives; and generating processor-executable instructions that causethe robot to replay the teleoperation instructions that cause the robotto perform the first reusable work primitive in the library of reusablework primitives. Receiving teleoperation instructions that cause therobot to perform a first reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitives may include receiving low-level teleoperationinstructions that cause the robot to emulate real physical actionsperformed by a real teleoperation pilot. Receiving teleoperationinstructions that cause the robot to perform a first reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives may includereceiving high-level teleoperation instructions that cause the robot toperform actions selected from a graphical user interface.

Training the robot to autonomously perform each reusable work primitivein the library of reusable work primitives may further includegenerating a simulated instance of the robot in a simulated environment.In this case: receiving teleoperation instructions that cause the robotto perform a first reusable work primitive in the library of reusablework primitives may include receiving teleoperation instructions thatcause the simulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusablework primitive in the simulated environment; executing the teleoperationinstructions to cause the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives may includeexecuting the teleoperation instructions to cause the simulated instanceof the robot to perform the first reusable work primitive in thesimulated environment; and generating processor-executable instructionsthat cause the robot to replay the teleoperation instructions that causethe robot to perform the first reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitives may include generating processor-executableinstructions that cause the simulated instance of the robot to replaythe teleoperation instructions that cause the simulated instance of therobot to perform the first reusable work primitive in the simulatedenvironment. Receiving teleoperation instructions that cause thesimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive in the simulated environment may include receiving low-levelteleoperation instructions that cause the simulated instance of therobot to emulate real physical actions performed by a real teleoperationpilot. Receiving teleoperation instructions that cause the simulatedinstance of the robot to perform the first reusable work primitive inthe simulated environment may include receiving high-level teleoperationinstructions that cause the simulated instance of the robot to performactions selected from a graphical user interface.

In some implementations, receiving teleoperation instructions that causethe robot to perform a first reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitives may include receiving a first set ofteleoperation instructions that cause the robot to perform a firstinstance of the first reusable work primitive in the library of reusablework primitives and receiving a second set of teleoperation instructionsthat cause the robot to perform a second instance of the first reusablework primitive in the library of reusable work primitives. Executing theteleoperation instructions to cause the robot to perform the firstreusable work primitive in the library of reusable work primitives mayinclude executing the first set of teleoperation instructions to causethe robot to perform the first instance of the first reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives and executing thesecond set of teleoperation instructions to cause the robot to performthe second instance of the first reusable work primitive in the libraryof reusable work primitives. Generating processor-executableinstructions that cause the robot to replay the teleoperationinstructions that cause the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives may include:evaluating respective results of executing the first set ofteleoperation instructions to cause the robot to perform the firstinstance of the first reusable work primitive in the library of reusablework primitives and executing the second set of teleoperationinstructions to cause the robot to perform the second instance of thefirst reusable work primitive in the library of reusable work primitivesto determine which of the first set of teleoperation instructions andthe second set of teleoperation instructions produces a better result;and generating processor-executable instructions that cause the robot toreplay whichever of the first set of teleoperation instructions and thesecond set of teleoperation instructions that produces the betterresult. Generating processor-executable instructions that cause therobot to replay the teleoperation instructions that cause the robot toperform the first reusable work primitive in the library of reusablework primitives may include combining at least one element of the firstset of teleoperation instructions and at least one element of the secondset of teleoperation instructions in the processor-executableinstructions that cause the robot to replay the teleoperationinstructions that cause the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives.

Training the robot to autonomously perform each reusable work primitivein the library of reusable work primitives may include generatingprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor of the robot, cause the robot to autonomously perform eachreusable work primitive in the library of reusable work primitives, andthe method may further include delivering the processor-executableinstructions to a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium ofthe robot.

A robot may be summarized as including: a body; at least one physicallyactuatable component mechanically coupled to the body; at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the at least one physicallyactuatable component; and at least one non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor,the at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumstoring a library of reusable work primitives and processor-executableinstructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause therobot to selectively and autonomously perform each reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives, theprocessor-executable instructions trained by a process comprising:generating a first simulated instance of the robot in a simulatedenvironment; repeatedly executing processor-executable instructions tocause the first simulated instance of the robot to perform a firstreusable work primitive in the library of reusable work primitives;refining the processor-executable instructions that cause the firstsimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive based on at least one result of repeatedly executing theprocessor-executable instructions to cause the first simulated instanceof the robot to perform the first reusable work primitive; anddelivering the processor-executable instructions to the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium of the robot. The process by which theprocessor-executable instructions are trained may further include:generating at least one additional simulated instance of the robot inthe simulated environment; repeatedly executing processor-executableinstructions to cause the at least one additional simulated instance ofthe robot to perform the first reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitives; and refining the processor-executableinstructions that cause both the first simulated instance of the robotand the at least one additional simulated instance of the robot toperform the first reusable work primitive based on at least one resultof repeatedly executing the processor-executable instructions to causethe first simulated instance of the robot and the at least oneadditional simulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusablework primitive.

A computer program product may be summarized as including: a library ofreusable work primitives; and processor-executable instructions and/ordata that, when the computer program product is stored in anon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of a robot system andexecuted by at least one processor of the robot system, the at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium, cause the robot system to selectivelyand autonomously perform each reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitives, the processor-executable instructions trainedby a process comprising: generating a first simulated instance of therobot in a simulated environment; repeatedly executingprocessor-executable instructions to cause the first simulated instanceof the robot to perform a first reusable work primitive in the libraryof reusable work primitives; refining the processor-executableinstructions that cause the first simulated instance of the robot toperform the first reusable work primitive based on at least one resultof repeatedly executing the processor-executable instructions to causethe first simulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusablework primitive; and delivering the processor-executable instructions tothe non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of the robot. Theprocess by which the processor-executable instructions are trained mayfurther include: generating at least one additional simulated instanceof the robot in the simulated environment; repeatedly executingprocessor-executable instructions to cause the at least one additionalsimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives; and refining theprocessor-executable instructions that cause both the first simulatedinstance of the robot and the at least one additional simulated instanceof the robot to perform the first reusable work primitive based on atleast one result of repeatedly executing the processor-executableinstructions to cause the first simulated instance of the robot and theat least one additional simulated instance of the robot to perform thefirst reusable work primitive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The various elements and acts depicted in the drawings are provided forillustrative purposes to support the detailed description. Unless thespecific context requires otherwise, the sizes, shapes, and relativepositions of the illustrated elements and acts are not necessarily shownto scale and are not necessarily intended to convey any information orlimitation. In general, identical reference numbers are used to identifysimilar elements or acts.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method of operation of arobot in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing another exemplary method of operationof a robot in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing another exemplary method of operationof a robot in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary set of reusablegrasp primitives in accordance with the present systems, devices, andmethods.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method of operation of arobot to grasp an object in accordance with the present systems,devices, and methods.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary computer-implementedmethod of initializing a robot to complete a multitude of workobjectives in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing another exemplary computer-implementedmethod of initializing a robot to complete a multitude of workobjectives in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary simulatedenvironment in which a robot is trained through simulation to perform areusable work primitive in accordance with the present systems, methods,and devices.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram showing another exemplary computer-implementedmethod of initializing a robot to complete a multitude of workobjectives in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative diagram of an exemplary robot systemcomprising various features and components described throughout thepresent systems, methods and devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description sets forth specific details in order toillustrate and provide an understanding of the various implementationsand embodiments of the present systems, devices, and methods. A personof skill in the art will appreciate that some of the specific detailsdescribed herein may be omitted or modified in alternativeimplementations and embodiments, and that the various implementationsand embodiments described herein may be combined with each other and/orwith other methods, components, materials, etc. in order to producefurther implementations and embodiments.

In some instances, well-known structures and/or processes associatedwith computer systems and data processing have not been shown orprovided in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily complicating orobscuring the descriptions of the implementations and embodiments.

Unless the specific context requires otherwise, throughout thisspecification and the appended claims the term “comprise” and variationsthereof, such as “comprises” and “comprising,” are used in an open,inclusive sense to mean “including, but not limited to.”

Unless the specific context requires otherwise, throughout thisspecification and the appended claims the singular forms “a,” “an,” and“the” include plural referents. For example, reference to “anembodiment” and “the embodiment” include “embodiments” and “theembodiments,” respectively, and reference to “an implementation” and“the implementation” include “implementations” and “theimplementations,” respectively. Similarly, the term “or” is generallyemployed in its broadest sense to mean “and/or” unless the specificcontext clearly dictates otherwise.

The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure are provided for convenienceonly and are not intended, and should not be construed, to interpret thescope or meaning of the present systems, devices, and methods.

A general purpose robot is able to complete multiple different workobjectives. As used throughout this specification and the appendedclaims, the term “work objective” refers to a particular task, job,assignment, or application that has a specified goal and a determinableoutcome, often (though not necessarily) in the furtherance of someeconomically valuable work. Work objectives exist in many aspects ofbusiness, research and development, commercial endeavors, and personalactivities. Exemplary work objectives include, without limitation:cleaning a location (e.g., a bathroom) or an object (e.g., a bathroommirror), preparing a meal, loading/unloading a storage container (e.g.,a truck), taking inventory, collecting one or more sample(s), making oneor more measurement(s), building or assembling an object, destroying ordisassembling an object, delivering an item, harvesting objects and/ordata, and so on. The various implementations described herein providesystems, devices, and methods for initializing, configuring, training,operating, and/or deploying a robot to at least semi-autonomouslycomplete multiple different work objectives.

In accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, a workobjective is deconstructed or broken down into a “workflow” comprising aset of “work primitives”, where successful completion of the workobjective involves performing each work primitive in the workflow.Depending on the specific implementation, completion of a work objectivemay be achieved by (i.e., a workflow may comprise): i) performing acorresponding set of work primitives sequentially or in series; ii)performing a corresponding set of work primitives in parallel; or iii)performing a corresponding set of work primitives in any combination ofin series and in parallel (e.g., sequentially with overlap) as suits thework objective and/or the robot performing the work objective. Thus, insome implementations work primitives may be construed as lower-levelactivities, steps, or sub-tasks that are performed or executed as aworkflow in order to complete a higher-level work objective.

Advantageously, and in accordance with the present systems, devices, andmethods, a library of “reusable” work primitives may be defined. A workprimitive is reusable if it may be generically invoked, performed,employed, or applied in the completion of multiple different workobjectives. For example, a reusable work primitive is one that is commonto the respective workflows of multiple different work objectives. Insome implementations, a reusable work primitive may include at least onevariable that is defined upon or prior to invocation of the workprimitive. For example, “pick up *object*” may be a reusable workprimitive where the process of “picking up” may be generically performedat least semi-autonomously in furtherance of multiple different workobjectives and the *object* to be picked up may be defined based on thespecific work objective being pursued.

As stated previously, the various implementations described hereinprovide systems, devices, and methods to enable a robot to at leastsemi-autonomously complete multiple different work objectives. Unlessthe specific context requires otherwise, the term “autonomously” is usedthroughout this specification and the appended claims to mean “withoutcontrol by another party” and the term “semi-autonomously” is used tomean “at least partially autonomously.” In other words, throughout thisspecification and the appended claims, the term “semi-autonomously”means “with limited control by another party” unless the specificcontext requires otherwise. An example of a semi-autonomous robot is onethat can independently and/or automatically execute and control some ofits own low-level functions, such as its mobility and grippingfunctions, but relies on some external control for high-levelinstructions such as what to do and/or how to do it.

In accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, a libraryof reusable work primitives may be defined, identified, developed, orconstructed such that any given work objective across multiple differentwork objectives may be completed by executing a corresponding workflowcomprising a particular combination and/or permutation of reusable workprimitives selected from the library of reusable work primitives. Oncesuch a library of reusable work primitives has been established, one ormore robot(s) may be trained to autonomously or automatically performeach individual reusable work primitive in the library of reusable workprimitives without necessarily including the context of: i) a particularworkflow of which the particular reusable work primitive being trainedis a part, and/or ii) any other reusable work primitive that may, in aparticular workflow, precede or succeed the particular reusable workprimitive being trained. In this way, a semi-autonomous robot may beoperative to autonomously or automatically perform each individualreusable work primitive in a library of reusable work primitives andonly require instruction, direction, or guidance from another party(e.g., from an operator, user, or pilot) when it comes to deciding whichreusable work primitive(s) to perform and/or in what order. In otherwords, an operator, user, or pilot may provide a workflow consisting ofreusable work primitives to a semi-autonomous robot and thesemi-autonomous robot may autonomously or automatically execute thereusable work primitives according to the workflow to complete a workobjective. For example, a semi-autonomous humanoid robot may beoperative to autonomously look left when directed to look left,autonomously open its right end effector when directed to open its rightend effector, and so on, without relying upon detailed low-level controlof such functions by a third party. Such a semi-autonomous humanoidrobot may autonomously complete a work objective once given instructionsregarding a workflow detailing which reusable work primitives it mustperform, and in what order, in order to complete the work objective.Furthermore, in accordance with the present systems, devices, andmethods, a robot may operate fully autonomously if it is trained orotherwise configured to analyze a work objective and independentlydefine a corresponding workflow itself by deconstructing the workobjective into a set of reusable work primitives from a library ofreusable work primitives that the robot is operative to autonomouslyperform.

In the context of a robot, reusable work primitives may correspond tobasic low-level functions that the robot is operable to (e.g.,autonomously or automatically) perform and that the robot may call uponor execute in order to achieve something. Examples of reusable workprimitives for a humanoid robot include, without limitation: look up,look down, look left, look right, move right arm, move left arm, closeright end effector, open right end effector, close left end effector,open left end effector, move forward, turn left, turn right, movebackwards, and so on; however, a person of skill in the art willappreciate that: i) the foregoing list of exemplary reusable workprimitives for a humanoid robot is by no means exhaustive; ii) thepresent systems, devices, and methods are not limited in any way torobots having a humanoid form factor; and iii) the complete compositionof any library of reusable work primitives depends on the design andfunctions of the specific robot for which the library of reusable workprimitives is constructed.

A robot may be operative to perform any number of high-level functionsbased at least in part on its hardware and software configurations. Forexample, a robot with legs or wheels may be operative to move, a robotwith a gripper may be operative to pick things up, and a robot with legsand a gripper may be operative to displace objects. The performance ofany such high-level function generally requires the controlled executionof multiple low-level functions. For example, a mobile robot mustexercise control of a number of different lower-level functions in orderto controllably move, including control of mobility actuators (e.g.,driving its legs or wheels) that govern functional parameters likespeed, trajectory, balance, and so on. In accordance with the presentsystems, devices, and methods, the high-level functions that a robot isoperative to perform are deconstructed or broken down into a set ofbasic components or constituents, referred to throughout thisspecification and the appended claims as “work primitives”. Unless thespecific context require otherwise, work primitives may be construed asthe building blocks of which higher-level robot functions areconstructed

As will be discussed in more detail later on, in some implementationstraining a robot to autonomously perform a reusable work primitive maybe completed in a simulated environment. Once a robot has been trainedto autonomously perform a library of reusable work primitives,tele-operation of the robot by a remote pilot may be abstracted to thelevel of reusable work primitives; i.e., a remote operator or pilot thatcontrols the robot through a tele-operation system may do so by simplyinstructing the robot which reusable work primitive(s) to perform and,in some implementations, in what order to perform them, and the robotmay have sufficient autonomy or automation (resulting from, for example,the training described above) to execute a complete work objective basedon such limited control instruction from the pilot.

As described previously, “clean a bathroom mirror” is an illustrativeexample of a work objective that can be deconstructed into a set of workprimitives to achieve a goal and for which the outcome is determinable.The goal in this case is a clean bathroom mirror, and an exemplary setof work primitives (or workflow) that completes the work objective is asfollows:

Work Primitive Index Work Primitive 1 Locate cleaning solution 2 Graspthe cleaning solution 3 Locate mirror 4 Aim the cleaning solution at themirror 5 Dispense the cleaning solution onto the mirror 6 Locate thecleaning cloth 7 Grasp the cleaning cloth 8 Pass the cleaning cloth overthe entire surface of the mirror 9 Return to ready

A person of skill in the art will appreciate that the exemplary workflowabove, comprising nine work primitives, is used as an illustrativeexample of a workflow that may be deployed to complete the workobjective of cleaning a bathroom mirror; however, in accordance with thepresent systems, devices, and methods the precise definition andcomposition of each work primitive and the specific combination and/orpermutation of work primitives selected/executed to complete a workobjective (i.e., the specific construction of a workflow) may vary indifferent implementations. For example, in some implementations workprimitives 3, 4, and 5 above (i.e., locate mirror, aim the cleaningsolution at the mirror, and dispense the cleaning solution onto themirror) may all be combined into one higher-level work primitive as“spray cleaning solution on the mirror” whereas in other implementationsthose same work primitives may be broken down into additionallower-level work primitives as, for example:

Locate the mirror

Identify the boundaries of the mirror

Aim the cleaning solution at a first location within the boundaries ofthe mirror

Squeeze the cleaning solution

Aim the cleaning solution at a second location within the boundaries ofthe mirror

Squeeze the cleaning solution

Etc.

Based on the above example and description, a person of skill in the artwill appreciate that the granularity of work primitives may vary acrossdifferent implementations of the present systems, devices, and methods.Furthermore, in accordance with the present systems, devices, andmethods the work primitives are advantageously “reusable” in the sensethat each work primitive may be employed, invoked, applied, or “reused”in the performance of more than one overall work objective. For example,while cleaning a bathroom mirror may involve the work primitive “graspthe cleaning solution,” other work objectives may also use the “graspthe cleaning solution” work primitive, such as for example “clean thetoilet,” “clean the window,” and/or “clean the floor.” In someimplementations, work primitives may be abstracted to become moregeneric. For example, “grasp the cleaning solution” may be abstracted to“grasp the spray bottle” or “grasp the *object1*” where the *object1*variable is defined as “*object1*=spray bottle”, and “locate the mirror”may be abstracted to “locate the object that needs to be sprayed” orsimply “locate *object2*” where “*object2*=mirror”. In such cases, the“grasp the spray bottle” work primitive may be used in tasks that do notinvolve cleaning, such as “paint the wall” (where the spray bottle=spraypaint), “style the hair” (where the spray bottle=hairspray), or “preparethe stir-fry meal” (where the spray bottle=cooking oil spray).

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 100 of operation ofa robot in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Ingeneral, throughout this specification and the appended claims, a methodof operation of a robot is a method in which at least some, if not all,of the various acts are performed by the robot. For example, certainacts of a method of operation of a robot may be performed by at leastone processor or processing unit (hereafter “processor”) of the robotcommunicatively coupled to a non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium of the robot and, in some implementations, certain acts of amethod of operation of a robot may be performed by peripheral componentsof the robot that are communicatively coupled to the at least oneprocessor, such as one or more physically actuatable components (e.g.,arms, legs, end effectors, grippers, hands), one or more sensors (e.g.,optical sensors, audio sensors, tactile sensors, haptic sensors),mobility systems (e.g., wheels, legs), communications and networkinghardware (e.g., receivers, transmitters, transceivers), and so on. Thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of the robot may storedata (including, e.g., a library of reusable work primitives) and/orprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robot to perform the method and/or cause the atleast one processor to perform those acts of the method that areperformed by the at least one processor. The robot may communicate, viacommunications and networking hardware communicatively coupled to therobot's at least one processor, with remote systems and/or remotenon-transitory processor-readable storage media. Thus, unless thespecific context requires otherwise, references to a robot'snon-transitory processor-readable storage medium, as well as data and/orprocessor-executable instructions stored in a non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium, are not intended to be limiting as tothe physical location of the non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium in relation to the at least one processor of the robot and therest of the robot hardware. In other words, a robot's non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium may include non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage media located on-board the robot and/ornon-transitory processor-readable storage media located remotely fromthe robot, unless the specific context requires otherwise.

Returning to FIG. 1, method 100 includes three acts 101, 102, and 103,though those of skill in the art will appreciate that in alternativeimplementations certain acts may be omitted and/or additional acts maybe added. Those of skill in the art will also appreciate that theillustrated order of the acts is shown for exemplary purposes only andmay change in alternative implementations.

At 101, the robot initiates a first work objective. In someimplementations, the robot may initiate the first work objective inresponse to receiving instructions from another party, such as verbalinstructions from a remote or local controller or operator. In someimplementations, the robot may include a telecommunication interfacecommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor and theinitiation, by the robot, of the first work objective at 101 may includereceiving, by the telecommunication interface of the robot (e.g., from aremote operator or tele-operation system), instructions related to thefirst work objective. Such instructions may include a definition of thefirst work objective, parameters dictating how/when/where the first workobjective should be completed, and/or directions on how to carry out thefirst work objective. In other implementations, the initiation, by therobot, of the first work objective at 101 may include the robot itselfautonomously identifying the first work objective. In suchimplementations, the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium ofthe robot may store data, models, policies, paradigms, algorithms,frameworks, architectures, and/or processor-executable instructions(collectively, “artificial intelligence”) that, when executed by the atleast one processor of the robot, cause the robot to autonomouslyidentify the first work objective. The artificial intelligence mayautonomously identify the first work objective based on a range ofdifferent parameters and/or criteria, including without limitation:sensor data, environmental factors, internal parameters, observations,and/or communications with other systems, robots, devices, or people.

At 102, the robot initiates a first workflow to complete the first workobjective initiated at 101. Initiating, by the robot, the first workflowmay include identifying or defining a first set or combination ofreusable work primitives that, when performed by the robot, willcomplete the first work objective. Initiating, by the robot, the firstworkflow may further include sequencing or otherwise arranging the firstset or combination of reusable work primitives into a first permutationof the first combination of reusable work primitives. As previouslydescribed, in some implementations the non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium of the robot may store a library of reusable workprimitives, and in such implementations the first workflow initiated bythe robot at 102 may comprise, or consist of, a first set or combinationof reusable work primitives selected from the library of reusable workprimitives stored in the non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium of the robot.

When the robot includes a telecommunication interface communicativelycoupled to the at least one processor, the initiation, by the robot, ofthe first workflow at 102 may include receiving the first workflow, orinstructions related thereto, by the telecommunication interface of therobot (e.g., from a remote operator or tele-operation system). Suchinstructions may include a definition of the first workflow, includingfor example a set or combination of reusable work primitives and,optionally, a permutation of the set or combination of reusable workprimitives to complete the first work objective. In otherimplementations, the initiation, by the robot, of the first workflow at102 may include the robot itself autonomously identifying a first set,combination, and/or permutation of reusable work primitives that make upthe first workflow. In such implementations, the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium of the robot may store artificialintelligence that, when executed by the at least one processor of therobot, causes the robot to autonomously identify the first workflow.

At 103, the robot executes the first workflow initiated at 102.Generally, in executing the first workflow at 103, the robot executesthe first set of reusable work primitives selected from the library ofreusable work primitives in the initiation of the first workflow at 102.As previously described, in some implementations the robot may betrained, configured, or otherwise operable to perform each reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives substantiallyautonomously or automatically. For example, the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium of the robot may store respective setsof processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor of the robot, each cause the robot to autonomously performa respective one of the reusable work primitives in the library of workprimitives. Thus, when the robot executes the first workflow at 103, therobot may do so substantially autonomously or automatically by executingthe sets of processor-executable instructions that cause or enable therobot to autonomously perform the particular reusable work primitives inthe first set of reusable work primitives that correspond to the firstworkflow. For the purpose of illustration, an exemplary implementationof method 100 is now described.

As an example, a robot may include or access a non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium that stores: i) a library of fivereusable work primitives: A, B, C, D, and E; and ii) five respectivesets of processor-executable instructions inst(A), inst(B), inst(C),inst(D), and inst(E) that, when executed by at least one processor ofthe robot, each cause the robot to autonomously perform a respective oneof the first reusable work primitives. At 101 of method 100, the robotinitiates a first work objective (either autonomously or upon receivinginstructions as described previously). At 102 of method 100, the robotinitiates a first workflow to complete the first work objective (eitherautonomously or upon receiving instructions as previously described).The first workflow comprises, or consists of, a first set of reusablework primitives from the library of reusable work primitives arranged ina first order. In this example, the first workflow consists of reusablework primitives B, C, and D arranged as:

C->B->D

At 103, the robot autonomously executes the first workflow. That is, atleast one processor of the robot executes processor-executableinstructions inst(C) to cause the robot to autonomously perform reusablework primitive C, then at least one processor of the robot executesprocessor-executable instructions inst(B) to cause the robot toautonomously perform reusable work primitive B, then at least oneprocessor of the robot executes processor-executable instructionsinst(D) to cause the robot to autonomously perform reusable workprimitive D. In this way, the robot completes the work objective:semi-autonomously if the robot relies on receiving instructions in orderto define the first workflow at 102, or completely autonomously if therobot is operable to autonomously define the first workflow at 102.

Advantageously, in accordance with the present systems, devices, andmethods, the library of reusable work primitives stored or accessed bythe robot may comprise, or consist of, all of the genericizedactivities, steps, or sub-tasks necessary to enable the robot tocomplete a multitude of different work objectives. In this way, thepresent systems, devices, and methods may realize, or at leastapproximate, general purpose robots that are capable of completing awide range of different work objectives in a wide range of differentindustries.

Continuing the example above, the exemplary library of five reusablework primitives may, for example, comprise:

A: measure environmental data

B: move to *position_x*

C: pick up *object_i*

D: put down *object_j*

E: barcode scan *object_k*

and the first work objective may be stated as: “move the green box tothe storage room”. Thus, when the robot performs the first workflowC->B->D, the robot: executes inst(C) where *object_i*=“green box” whichcauses the robot to autonomously (i.e., with no further control orinstruction from another party) pick up the green box; executes inst(B)where *position_x*=“storage room” which causes the robot to autonomouslycarry the green box to the storage room; and executes inst(D) where*object_j*=“green box” which causes the robot to autonomously put downthe green box in the storage room. In this way, the robot completes thefirst work objective by performing the workflow C->B->D.

Using the same library of five reusable work primitives A, B, C, D, andE, the robot may complete a second work objective. For example, a secondwork objective may be stated as: “make an inventory of the items in thestorage room”. As previously described, the second work objective may beinitialized by the robot (per act 101 of method 100) either autonomouslyor in response to receiving instructions related to the second workobjective from some form of controller or operator. Thecontroller/operator may include a remote tele-operator, an at leastsemi-autonomous tele-operation system, or a controlling entity (e.g.,another robot, or a person) co-located with the robot. A controllingentity co-located with the robot may provide verbal instructions to therobot that the robot is operative to detect and process.

Upon initiation of the second work objective, the robot may initiate asecond workflow to complete the second work objective. In a similar wayto the first workflow, the second workflow also comprises, or consistsof, a set of reusable work primitives from the library of five reusablework primitives A, B, C, D, and E; however, the second workflow isdifferent from the first workflow in that the second workflow comprisesa second, and different, set (e.g., combination and/or permutation) ofreusable work primitives from the library of five reusable workprimitives A, B, C, D, and E. As previously described, the secondworkflow may be initialized by the robot (per act 102 of method 100)either autonomously or in response to receiving instructions definingthe second workflow from some form of controller or operator.

In this example, the second workflow consists of reusable workprimitives B, C, D, E arranged as:

B->repeat:[C->E->D]

In accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, at leastone reusable work primitive may be common in multiple workflows. In thepresent example, reusable work primitives B, C, and D are all commonlyincluded in both the first workflow to complete the first work objectiveand the second workflow to complete the second work objective.

The exemplary second workflow includes “repeat:[C->E->D]”; therefore, inorder to complete the second work objective the robot must repeatprimitives C->E->D of the second workflow for all items in the storageroom. Thus, when the robot executes the second workflowB->repeat:[C->E->D] (per act 103 of method 100), the robot executesinst(B) where *position_x*=“storage room” which causes the robot toautonomously (i.e., with no further control or instruction from anotherparty) go to the storage room and then the robot initiates a loopwherein the robot executes primitives C->E->D for all items in thestorage room. That is, upon arriving in the storage room, the robot:executes inst(C) where *object_i*=“first item” which causes the robot toautonomously pick up a first item in the storage room; executes inst(E)where *object_k*=“first item” which causes the robot to autonomously barcode scan the first item; and executes inst(D) where *object_j*=“firstitem” which causes the robot to put down the first item. The robot thenrepeats primitives C->E->D for each item in the storage room in series(i.e., for a second item, for a third item, and so on) until the robothas picked up, bar code scanned, and put down every item in the storageroom. In this way, the robot completes the second work objective byperforming the workflow B->repeat:[C->E->D].

Using the same library of five reusable work primitives A, B, C, D, andE, the robot may complete at least one additional work objective. Forexample, the robot may record environmental parameters at variousstations or waypoints (repeat:[B->A]) and/or checkout customers'purchases at a retail store (repeat:[C->E->D]). These, and many other,work objectives may all be completed by the robot at leastsemi-autonomously by executing corresponding workflows comprising, orconsisting of, various combinations and/or permutations of reusable workprimitives from an exemplary library of five reusable work primitives A,B, C, D, and E. However, a person of skill in the art will appreciatethat a library of reusable work primitives may consist of any number andform of reusable work primitives and the library of five reusable workprimitives A, B, C, D, and E described herein is used only as an examplefor the purpose of illustration. Generally, the more reusable workprimitives in a library of reusable work primitives the more differentwork objectives a robot may be operable to semi-autonomously complete;however, in some implementations a finite number of reusable workprimitives (e.g., on the order of 10s, such as 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60,70, 80, 90; or on the order of 100s, such as 100, 200, etc.) may besufficient to enable a robot to complete a significant portion (e.g.,all) of the work objectives of interest.

The example described above, where a robot employs a fixed library ofreusable work primitives to complete multiple different work objectives,is illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing an exemplarymethod 200 of operation of a robot in accordance with the presentsystems, devices, and methods. Method 200 includes three sub-methods100, 210, and 250 and six illustrated acts 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, and203, though those of skill in the art will appreciate that inalternative implementations certain acts may be omitted and/oradditional acts may be added. Those of skill in the art will alsoappreciate that the illustrated order of the acts is shown for exemplarypurposes only and may change in alternative implementations.

Method 200 includes, as a sub-method 100, method 100 of operation of arobot to complete a first work objective from FIG. 1. That is, method200 includes acts 101, 102, and 103 from method 100 of FIG. 1, wherebythe robot initiates a first work objective (101), initiates a firstworkflow to complete the first work objective (102), and executes thefirst workflow (103) all substantially as described for method 100 ofFIG. 1. As described previously, the first workflow comprises, orconsists of, a particular combination and/or permutation of reusablework primitives from a library of reusable work primitives stored in orotherwise accessed by the robot. In accordance with method 100, variousones of the reusable work primitives in the robot's library of reusablework primitives are sufficient to enable the robot to complete the firstwork objective. In sub-method 210, various ones of the reusable workprimitives in the robot's library of reusable work primitives are usedand/or reused by the robot to complete a second work objective via acts201, 202, and 203 (collectively, sub-method 210), and likewise variousones of the reusable work primitives in the robot's library of reusablework primitives are used and/or reused by the robot to complete at leastone additional work objective at sub-method 250.

Specifically, at 201 of sub-method 210 the robot initiates a second workobjective that is different from the first work objective initiated at101 of sub-method 100. Similar to as described for act 101, at 201 thesecond work objective may be initiated autonomously by the robot or inresponse to instructions received from another party (e.g., acontroller, pilot, or operator) through any of a variety of differentcommunication means, including verbally, wirelessly through atelecommunications system, digitally through a tethered communicationline, and so on.

At 202 of sub-method 210, the robot initiates a second workflow tocomplete the second work objective initiated at 201. Since the secondwork objective is different from the first work objective, the secondworkflow may be different from the first workflow. Similar to asdescribed for act 102, at 202 initiating, by the robot, the secondworkflow may include identifying or defining a second set or combinationof reusable work primitives that, when performed by the robot, willcomplete the second work objective, and may further include (ifapplicable) sequencing or otherwise arranging the second set orcombination of reusable work primitives into a second permutation of thesecond combination of reusable work primitives. In accordance with thepresent systems, devices, and methods, the second set or combination ofreusable work primitives to complete the second work objective isselected, at 202, from the same library of reusable work primitives fromwhich the first set or combination of reusable work primitives tocomplete the first work objective is selected at 102. In someimplementations, at least one common reusable work primitive may beincluded in both the first workflow initiated at 102 and the secondworkflow initiated at 202. In other words, in some implementations atleast one reusable work primitive from the first workflow initiated at102 is reused in the second workflow initiated at 202.

Similar to act 102, at 202 the robot may initiate the second workflowautonomously or in response to receiving instructions from another party(e.g., a controller, pilot, or operator) through any of a variety ofdifferent communication means, including verbally, wirelessly through atelecommunications system, digitally through a tethered communicationline, and so on.

At 203 of sub-method 210, the robot executes the second workflowinitiated at 202. Generally, in executing the second workflow at 203,the robot executes the second set of reusable work primitives selectedfrom the library of reusable work primitives in the initiation of thesecond workflow at 202, including (if applicable) at least one commonreusable work primitive that is included in both the first workflow(initiated at 102 and executed at 103) and the second workflow(initiated at 202 and executed at 203). As previously described, in someimplementations the robot may be trained, configured, or otherwiseoperable to perform each reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitives substantially autonomously or automatically.Thus, when the robot executes the second workflow at 203, the robot maydo so substantially autonomously or automatically by executing theprocessor-executable instructions that cause or enable the robot toautonomously perform the particular reusable work primitives in thesecond set of reusable work primitives that correspond to the secondworkflow. In implementations where both the first workflow initiated at102 and the second workflow initiated at 202 include at least one commonreusable work primitive, executing the first workflow at 103 andexecuting the second workflow at 203 may both include executing, by atleast one processor of the robot, at least a same portion ofprocessor-executable instructions that cause the robot to perform the atleast one common reusable work primitive in both the first workflow andthe second workflow.

In accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, variousones of the reusable work primitives in the robot's library of reusablework primitives may be further used and/or reused by the robot tocomplete at least one additional work objective. To this end, method 200includes sub-method 100 where a robot initiates and executes a first setof reusable work primitives to complete a first work objective,sub-method 210 where the robot initiates and executes a second set ofreusable work primitives to complete a second work objective that isdifferent from the first work objective, and sub-method 250 (details notillustrated to reduce clutter but are generally analogous to acts 101,102, and 103 of sub-method 100 and acts 201, 202, and 203 of sub-method210) where the robot initiates and executes at least one additional setof reusable work primitives to complete at least one additional workobjective that is different from both the first work objective and thesecond work objective. In each of sub-methods 100, 210, and 250, thesame robot is deployed using the same library of reusable workprimitives; however, because the first work objective, the second workobjective, and the at least one additional work objective are alldifferent from one another, the corresponding workflows (i.e., the firstworkflow, the second workflow, and the at least one additional workflow,respectively) initiated by the robot to complete the work objectives mayall be different from another. In accordance with the present systems,devices, and methods, the work primitives in the robot's library of workprimitives are reusable such that any or all of the following is/aretrue: i) at least one work primitive that is included in the firstworkflow to complete the first work objective is also included in (i.e.,is common to or “reused” in) the second workflow to complete the secondwork objective; ii) at least one work primitive that is included in thesecond workflow to complete the second work objective is also includedin (i.e., is common to or “reused” in) the at least one additionalworkflow to complete the at least one additional work objective; iii) atleast one work primitive that is included in the at least one additionalworkflow to complete the at least one additional work objective is alsoincluded in (i.e., is common to or reused in) the first workflow tocomplete the first work objective; and/or iv) at least one workprimitive that is included in the first workflow to complete the firstwork objective is also included in (i.e., is common to or reused in)both the second workflow to complete the second work objective and theat least one additional workflow to complete the at least one additionalwork objective. In the latter scenario, at least one reusable workprimitive is included in (i.e., is common to or reused in) all of thefirst workflow, the second workflow, and the at least one additionalworkflow.

A robot may come in a variety of different forms and include a varietyof different components. A robot may include a body or chassis thatincludes, houses, carries, or is otherwise mechanically coupled to, aspreviously described, at least one processor communicatively coupled toat least one non-transitory processor-readable storage medium.Advantageously, a robot may also include at least one physicallyactuatable component mechanically coupled to the body andcommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the at least onephysically actuatable component operable to controllably move and effectchanges in, on, or to the robot and/or the robot's environment.Throughout this specification and the appended claims, the term“physically actuatable component” refers to a real physical part of arobot that is controllably actuatable (e.g., by the robot, or by anoperator, controller or pilot of the robot) to change in some physicalway involving motion (including, without limitation, translation and/orrotation). Non-limiting examples of physically actuatable componentsinclude: an arm, an end effector, a gripper, a hand, a finger, a leg, anextendible and/or displaceable support structure such as a neck or boom,and a wheel.

In accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, when arobot includes at least a first physically actuatable component, thelibrary of reusable work primitives stored in (e.g., the at least onenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of the robot) orotherwise accessed by the robot may include a set of reusable workprimitives performable by at least the first physically actuatablecomponent. That is, the robot's library of reusable work primitives mayinclude specific reusable work primitives that are each performable byat least the first physically actuatable component.

The completion of some work objectives may advantageously deploy arobot's first physically actuatable component, e.g., in order to effecta change on the robot and/or its environment. In this case, when therobot initiates a workflow to complete a work objective per act 102 ofmethod 100 and/or act 202 of (sub-method 210 of) method 200, the robotmay initiate a first set of reusable work primitives that includes atleast one reusable work primitive from the set of reusable workprimitives performable by the first physically actuatable component.When the robot executes the workflow, the robot executes or performs theat least one reusable work primitive from the set of reusable workprimitives performable by the first physically actuatable component,which results in the first physically actuatable component actuating toeffect a change on the robot or the robot's environment in somedeliberate way characterized by the at least one reusable work primitiveperformable by the first physically actuatable component. A specificexample of the above for which the at least one physically actuatablecomponent is or includes a component (e.g., end effector) operative tograsp objects, such as a gripper or hand, is illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 300 of operation ofa robot in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. Inorder to perform method 300, the robot includes at least a firstphysically actuatable component operative to grasp objects and therobot's library of reusable work primitives includes a set of reusablegrasp primitives performable by the at least a first physicallyactuatable component that is operative to grasp objects. Method 300includes three acts 301, 302, and 303, though those of skill in the artwill appreciate that in alternative implementations certain acts may beomitted and/or additional acts may be added. Those of skill in the artwill also appreciate that the illustrated order of the acts is shown forexemplary purposes only and may change in alternative implementations.

Method 300 is substantially similar to method 100, with an added detailthat the first work objective to be completed by the robot specificallyincludes grasping an object. Thus, at 301 of method 300 the robotinitiates (in a manner similar to that described for act 101 of method100) a first work objective that involves grasping an object. Asnon-limiting examples, the first work objective may involve picking upan object, displacing an object, pulling an object, twisting or rotatingan object, holding onto an object (such as a tool or instrument), and/orotherwise manipulating an object

At 302, the robot initiates (in a manner similar to that described foract 102 of method 100) a first workflow to complete the first workobjective. In accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods,in the example of method 300 the first workflow includes at least onereusable grasp primitive from the robot's available library of reusablework primitives, the at least one reusable grasp primitive to beperformed by the first physically actuatable component operative tograsp objects. Throughout this specification, the term “grasp primitive”refers to a particular configuration adopted by a physically actuatablecomponent operative to grasp objects in order to grasp an object in aparticular way. For example, when the physically actuatable componentoperative to grasp objects is or includes a hand having multiple fingersand a thumb (i.e., an analogue of a human hand), different graspprimitives may correspond to different arrangements or configurations ofthe fingers and thumb when grasping an object. Such a hand-likephysically actuatable component operative to grasp objects may be bestsuited to grasp different objects in different ways depending on, amongother things, an intended use of the object and/or characteristics(e.g., shape, size, geometry, rigidity, fragility) of the object.Certain “different ways” that grasping may be achieved may correspond torespective grasp primitives, with various non-limiting examples depictedin FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary set of reusablegrasp primitives 400 in accordance with the present systems, devices,and methods. For exemplary set of reusable grasp primitives 400, thephysically actuatable component operative to grasp objects is a robotichand having four fingers and an opposable thumb (much like a human hand)and the grasp primitives correspond to different hand configurationseach respectively suited to grasp in a different way. A person of skillin the art will appreciate, however, that the teachings herein may beapplied in alternative implementations in which a hand-like physicallyactuatable component operative to grasp objects includes a differentnumber of fingers, such as two fingers, three fingers, five fingers, sixfingers, and so on.

In FIG. 4, the grasp primitives 400 are broken down into two high-levelcategories: “Power” and “Precision”, where “Power” grasp primitivesprovide strong grips well-suited for, e.g., grasping strong rigidobjects or in applications in which a highly secure hold is desired,while “Precision” grasp primitives provide gentle grips well-suited for,e.g., grasping delicate soft objects or in applications in which ahighly manipulative hold is desired. The Power and Precision graspprimitive categories are each further broken down into sub-categoriesbased on the geometry of the object being grasped (e.g., Prismatic orCircular) and the configuration/arrangement of the hand's fingers andthumb (e.g., Heavy Wrap, Light Wrap, Disk, Sphere, 4 Fingers, 1 Finger).In this way, exemplary set of reusable grasp primitives 400 includeseight unique grasp primitives that may be autonomously deployed by ahand-like physically actuatable component operative to grasp objects inaccordance with the present systems, devices, and methods. A person ofskill in the art will appreciate, however, that exemplary set of eightreusable grasp primitives 400 in FIG. 4 is provided for illustrativepurposes only and in practice a reusable set of grasp primitives maycomprise, or consist of, any number and combination of grasp primitivesdepending on the specific implementation, including: a subset of theeight reusable grasp primitives 400 shown in FIG. 4, either alone or incombination with at least one additional reusable grasp primitive notshown in FIG. 4; all eight reusable grasp primitives 400 shown in FIG. 4plus at least one additional reusable grasp primitive not shown in FIG.4; or a completely different set of reusable grasp primitives that doesnot include any of the eight reusable grasp primitive 400 shown in FIG.4. Furthermore, in different implementations a set of reusable graspprimitives may follow an organizational structure that is different fromthat depicted in FIG. 4, or a set of reusable grasp primitives mayfollow no organizational structure at all.

Returning to method 300 of FIG. 3, at 303 the robot executes (in amanner similar to that described for act 103 of method 100) the firstworkflow initiated at 302. In the execution of the first workflow at303, the first physically actuatable component operative to graspobjects executes or performs the at least one reusable grasp primitiveto grasp an object in a particular way (e.g., Heavy Wrap or 1 Finger)that is well-suited to the object or work objective. Executing orperforming the first workflow at 303 completes the first work objective.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 500 of operation ofa robot to grasp an object in accordance with the present systems,devices, and methods. In order to perform method 500, the robot includesa robotic hand having multiple fingers and an opposable thumb, at leastone processor operative to control actuations of the robotic hand, atleast one sensor communicatively coupled to the at least one processor,and a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicativelycoupled to the at least one processor. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium stores a library of reusable graspprimitives and processor-executable instructions that, when executed bythe at least one processor, cause the robotic hand to autonomouslyperform the reusable grasp primitives in the library of reusable graspprimitives. Method 500 includes four acts 501, 502, 503, and 504, andone sub-act 531, though those of skill in the art will appreciate thatin alternative implementations certain acts and/or sub-acts may beomitted and/or additional acts and/or sub-acts may be added. Those ofskill in the art will also appreciate that the illustrated order of theacts and/or sub-acts is shown for exemplary purposes only and may changein alternative implementations.

At 501, the at least one sensor collects data about the object. In someimplementations, the at least one sensor may include at least oneoptical sensor, such as at least one camera, and at 501 the at least oneoptical sensor may collect optical data, such as at least one image,about the object. In some implementations, the at least one sensor mayinclude at least one haptic or tactile sensor and at 501 the at leastone haptic or tactile sensor may collect haptic or tactile data aboutthe object. Some sensor systems deployed at 501 may include signalemitters, such as LiDAR systems or other scanner systems based on, forexample, radio frequencies.

At 502, the data collected by the at least one sensor at 501 is analyzedby the at least one processor to determine a geometry of the object.When the at least one sensor employed at 501 includes at least oneoptical sensor, a person of skill in the art will appreciate that theanalysis performed at 502 may employ any of a wide range of machinevision and/or digital image processing techniques, including withoutlimitation: stitching/registration; filtering (e.g. morphologicalfiltering); thresholding; pixel counting; segmentation; edge detection;color analysis; blob detection and extraction; neural net/deeplearning/machine learning processing; pattern recognition includingtemplate matching; and/or gauging/metrology.

At 503, the at least one processor selects a particular reusable graspprimitive from the library of reusable grasp primitives based, at leastin part, on the geometry of the object determined at 502. The particularreusable grasp primitive that the at least one processor selects may, insome implementations, be or include the particular reusable graspprimitive that the processor determines best fits (or will best fit) thegeometry of the object relative to (or compared to) all other reusablegrasp primitives in the library of reusable grasp primitives. As anexample, the particular reusable grasp primitive that “best fits” thegeometry of the object may be the particular reusable grasp primitivethat employs a configuration of the multiple fingers and the opposablethumb of the robotic hand that best accommodates or mates with thegeometry of the object relative to all other reusable grasp primitivesin the library of reusable grasp primitives.

In some implementations, in order to select a particular reusable graspprimitive at 503, the at least one processor may simulate or model therobotic hand grasping the object (given the geometry of the objectdetermined at 502) with each reusable grasp primitive in the library ofreusable grasp primitives to determine which particular reusable graspprimitive in the library of reusable grasp primitives best fits thegeometry of the object relative to the other grasp primitives in thelibrary of reusable grasp primitives. The simulation/modeling processmay include assigning a respective score to each reusable graspprimitive in the library of reusable grasp primitives based on how wellthe reusable grasp primitive fits, accommodates, or mates with thegeometry of the object and/or how reliable a grasp is or will beachieved. In implementations that employ such a scoring system, the atleast one processor may return or select the reusable grasp primitivethat has the highest score as the particular reusable grasp primitivethat best fits the geometry of the object relative to all other reusablegrasp primitives in the library of reusable grasp primitives. In someimplementations, the at least one processor may initially (i.e., priorto modeling or simulating grasping the object with the robotic hand)filter out reusable grasp primitives that are less likely to provide agood fit based on properties of the object or task for which the objectneeds to be grasped, such as (for example) whether a power or prismaticgrasp is preferred. For example, with reference to FIG. 4, if the objectis known to be solid and heavy, and the geometry of the object isdetermined (at 502) to be long and cylindrical, then the at least oneprocessor may filter the reusable grasp primitives such that onlyreusable grasp primitives that correspond to “Prismatic” and “Power”grasps are modeled and/or simulated.

In some implementations, modeling and/or simulating may not be employedand at 503 the at least one processor may select the particular reusablegrasp primitive based purely on deductions or process of eliminationfiltering similar to that described above. That is, returning again toFIG. 4, if the object is known to light and fragile and the geometry ofthe object is determined (at 502) to be spherical, the at least oneprocessor may filter the library of reusable grasp primitivesaccordingly based on these properties to select the“Precision->Circular->Sphere” reusable grasp primitive at 503.

At 504, the robotic hand executes the particular reusable graspprimitive selected by the at least one processor at 503 in order tograsp the object. In some implementations, the robotic hand may becontrolled by the at least one processor and at 504 the at least oneprocessor may execute processor-executable instructions that cause therobotic hand to autonomously perform the particular reusable graspprimitive to grasp the object.

As illustrated in some of the foregoing examples, in someimplementations the at least one processor may select, at 503, aparticular reusable grasp primitive from the library of reusable graspprimitives based on both the geometry of the object determined at 502and at least one additional parameter of the object (e.g., such aswhether the object is heavy or light, or whether the object isstrong/durable or fragile/brittle, and so on). Thus, in someimplementations of method 500 the at least one processor may analyzeadditional data about the object to determine at least one additionalparameter of the object. Such additional data may be collected by the atleast one sensor (i.e., either using the same sensor that collects dataabout the object at 501 or using a different sensor of the same or adifferent sensor type) or delivered/transmitted to the robot from anexternal source (e.g., from a pilot or other operator of the robot). Forexample, the robot may include at least one receiver communicativelycoupled to the at least one processor that may receive, among otherthings, additional data about the object. The additional data about theobject may come in a variety of different forms depending on thespecific implementation. As examples, the additional data about theobject may include any of the following, alone or in any combination: ahardness of the object, a rigidity of the object, an identity of theobject, a function of the object, and/or a mass of the object.

A robot may be operative to perform method 500 (i.e., to grasp anobject) as part of a workflow. That is, the act or action of grasping anobject may correspond to one or more reusable work primitives executedby a robot as part of a workflow in furtherance of a work objective. Inaccordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, theparticular reusable grasp primitive selected by the robot at 503 may, insome implementations, depend on or be influenced by, at least in part,what the robot will do with the grasped object in furtherance of a workobjective. For example, if the robot will need to swing the object oruse it as a tool then the robot may adopt a “Power” grasp primitive toensure a secure grasp of the object, whereas if the robot will need topick and place the object then the robot may adopt a “Precision” graspprimitive to ensure precise placement of the object. Thus, in someimplementations of method 500, act 503 may include sub-act 531. At 531,the robot (e.g., the at least one processor of the robot) selects theparticular reusable grasp primitive from the library of reusable graspprimitives based, at least in part, on both the geometry of the objectdetermined at 502 and information about a work objective to be performedby the robot. Information about the work objective to be performed bythe robot may be stored as data in the non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium of the robot and accessed by the at least one processorwhen selecting the reusable grasp primitive at 503. Data about the workobjective to be performed by the robot may arrive at or in thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of the robot through avariety of different means, including without limitation: viainstruction or command received (e.g., by at least one receiver of therobot) from a pilot or operator of the robot; via instruction or commandreceived locally (e.g., by a microphone or input terminal of the robot)from a pilot or operator of the robot; and/or via autonomous actionplanning and/or reasoning performed by an artificial intelligence of therobot.

In accordance with the present systems, methods, and devices, a robotmay autonomously perform each reusable grasp primitive in a library ofreusable grasp primitives. More generally, a robot may autonomouslyperform each reusable work primitive in a library of reusable workprimitives. Such autonomy may be developed or enabled by a training orlearning process that involves causing the robot to repeatedly perform areusable grasp/work primitive for a number of iterations. A person ofskill in the art will already be familiar with the concept of training arobot to complete a work objective by operating the robot to replay acomplete set of instructions that achieves the work objective (i.e.,operating the robot to replay an entire workflow); however, inaccordance with the present systems, methods, and devices thisconventional approach of operating a robot to replay a complete set ofinstructions corresponding to an entire workflow is undesirably specificand limiting. A robot that is trained to autonomously perform an entireworkflow is a highly specialized robot that can only autonomouslycomplete work objective(s) that correspond to that workflow. Even minorchanges to conditions, the environment, or the specification of the workobjective can render such a highly specialized robot incapable ofautonomously completing the work objective. Conversely, the presentsystems, methods, and devices describe autonomous “general purpose”robots where such generality arises, at least in part, from each robot'sability to autonomously perform individual work primitives (rather thanonly complete workflows) and to “reuse” such work primitives across amultitude of different workflows corresponding to a wide range ofdifferent work objectives. Thus, training a robot to autonomouslyperform reusable work primitives is different from training a robot toautonomously perform an entire workflow and advantageously gives rise toa generality that enables multi-purpose robot applications. In otherwords, training a robot to autonomously perform reusable work primitivesas opposed to training a robot to autonomously perform completeworkflows improves the function of the robot in terms of itsversatility, generality, and range of utility.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary computer-implementedmethod 600 of initializing a robot to complete a multitude of workobjectives in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.Method 600 includes two main acts 601 and 602, and act 602 includes twosub-acts 621 and 622, though those of skill in the art will appreciatethat in alternative implementations certain acts/sub-acts may be omittedand/or additional acts/sub-acts may be added. Those of skill in the artwill also appreciate that the illustrated order of the acts/sub-acts isshown for exemplary purposes only and may change in alternativeimplementations. Method 600 is a computer-implemented method that may beperformed by one or more computer system(s) comprising conventionalcomputing hardware such as at least one processor communicativelycoupled with at least one non-transitory processor-readable storagemedium and various other well-known components such as a system bus,input/output peripherals, networking hardware, and so on, as well asconventional software and firmware stored in the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium such as BIOS, various drivers, anoperating system, and the like. In accordance with the present systems,methods, and devices, the at least one non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium may also store data and/or processor-executableinstructions (e.g., a computer program product) that, when executed bythe at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least onenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium, cause the computersystem to perform computer-implemented method 600.

At 601, a library of reusable work primitives is defined. Each reusablework primitive is performable by the robot, wherein respectivecombinations and permutations of reusable work primitives from thelibrary of reusable work primitives are initiated and executed by therobot in order to complete respective workflows in furtherance ofrespective work objectives.

At 602, the robot is trained to autonomously perform each reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives. Training the robotto autonomously perform each reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitive may include, for each respective reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives, operating therobot to repeatedly perform the reusable work primitive without anyregard to, or allowance for, or accommodation of any other reusable workprimitive that may precede or succeed the reusable work primitive in anyworkflow. In other words, while conventional techniques of training arobot to autonomously replay an entire workflow involve operating arobot to execute a series of instructions each serially dependent onpreceding and succeeding instructions in order to complete a workobjective, in the present systems, methods, and devices robots aretrained to autonomously replay individual reusable work primitives by,for each individual reusable work primitive, executing an independentset of instructions that does not depend on preceding or succeedinginstructions and does not on its own complete a work objective. Thisprocess of training the robot at 602 is illustrated in FIG. 6 assub-acts 621 and 622.

At 621, training the robot at 602 may include generatingprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor of the robot, cause the robot to selectively and autonomouslyperform each reusable work primitive in the library of reusable workprimitives. Generating the processor-executable instructions may includean iterative process wherein, for each reusable work primitive, therobot is repeatedly operated to perform, and reperform, the reusablework primitive and, in so doing, those actions and control parameters(e.g., actuation timings, force and torque levels, and so on) that causethe robot to perform the reusable work primitive with the greatestsuccess (e.g., with the fewest errors, in the least amount of time, withthe greatest accuracy or precision, or by any other similar measure ofsuccess) may be encoded as processor-executable instructions that, whenre-executed by the robot, cause the robot to selectively andautonomously reperform the reusable work primitive.

At 622, the processor-executable instructions generated at 621 aredelivered to a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of therobot. In other words, at 622 the processor-executable instructionsgenerated at 621 are “loaded into” the robot to be called upon andplayed back by the robot to cause the robot to autonomously perform thereusable work primitives.

As described previously, in accordance with the present systems,methods, and devices training a robot to autonomously perform a reusablework primitive may be completed in a simulated environment. For example,training the robot at 602 may include training the robot to autonomouslyperform each reusable work primitive in the library of reusable workprimitives in a simulated environment, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary computer-implementedmethod 700 of initializing a robot to complete a multitude of workobjectives in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.Method 700 includes two main acts 701 and 702, and act 702 includesthree sub-acts 721, 722, and 723, though those of skill in the art willappreciate that in alternative implementations certain acts/sub-acts maybe omitted and/or additional acts/sub-acts may be added. Those of skillin the art will also appreciate that the illustrated order of theacts/sub-acts is shown for exemplary purposes only and may change inalternative implementations. Method 700 is a computer-implemented methodthat may be performed by one or more computer system(s) comprisingconventional computing hardware such as at least one processorcommunicatively coupled with at least one non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium and various other well-knowncomponents such as a system bus, input/output peripherals, networkinghardware, and so on, as well as conventional software and firmwarestored in the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium such asBIOS, various drivers, an operating system, and the like. In accordancewith the present systems, methods, and devices, the at least onenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium may also store dataand/or processor-executable instructions (e.g., a computer programproduct) that, when executed by the at least one processorcommunicatively coupled to the at least one non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium, cause the computer system to performcomputer-implemented method 700.

At 701, a library of reusable work primitives is defined similar to act601 from method 600. Each reusable work primitive is performable by therobot.

At 702, the robot is trained in a simulated environment to autonomouslyperform each reusable work primitive in the library of reusable workprimitives. Throughout this specification and the appended claims, theterm “simulated” as in “simulated environment”, “simulated instance” andthe like, is used to refer to a virtual or digital copy or emulation ofa physical counterpart. Thus, a “simulated environment” is a virtual ordigital representation of a physical environment encoded inprocessor-executable instructions and/or data stored in at least onenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium and realized by atleast one processor executing such processor-executable instructionsand/or data. The processor-executable instructions and/or data mayencode dimensions (e.g., spatial parameters), geometries, and otherparameters (e.g., physical constants such as acceleration due togravity, speed of light, and so on) that characterize a space and, ifapplicable, any objects contained therein. A simulated environment mayor may not represent a known real-world environment. In order tointerface with a user, a simulated environment may be displayed on ascreen or monitor but such a visual manifestation of a simulatedenvironment is not necessarily required in all implementations of thepresent systems, methods, and devices. In some implementations, trainingthe robot in a simulated environment may include training one or moresimulation(s) of the robot in the simulated environment. To this end,act 702 includes sub-acts 721, 722, and 723.

At 721, which is a part of training the robot in a simulated environmentat 702, a first simulated instance of the robot is generated in thesimulated environment. A simulated instance of the robot may include avirtual or digital representation of the robot encoded inprocessor-executable instructions and/or data stored in at least onenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium and realized by atleast one processor executing such processor-executable instructionsand/or data. The processor-executable instructions and/or data mayencode dimensions (e.g., spatial parameters), geometries, and otherparameters (e.g., degrees of freedom, material properties, mass, and soon) that characterize the real-world physical robot and, if applicable,how it moves. In order to interface with a user, a simulated instance ofa robot may be displayed on a screen or monitor but such a visualmanifestation of a simulated instance of a robot is not necessarilyrequired in all implementations of the present systems, methods, anddevices.

At 722, which is a part of training the robot in a simulated environmentat 702, processor-executable instructions are repeatedly executed (by atleast one processor) to cause the first simulated instance of the robotto perform a first reusable work primitive in the library of reusablework primitives.

At 723, which is a part of training the robot in a simulated environmentat 702, the processor-executable instructions that are repeatedlyexecuted at 722 are refined based on at least one result of repeatedlyexecuting the processor-executable instructions to cause the firstsimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive at 722. For example, the processor-executable instructionsthat are repeatedly executed at 722 may be refined at 723 to adjust oneor more parameters (e.g., a timing of or in between actuations, a forceor precision of actuation, a target value or threshold value, a sensorytrigger, and so on) that govern how the first simulated instance of therobot performs the first reusable work primitive to improve or reproducea result of executing the processor-executable instructions at 722. If afirst iteration of executing the processor-executable instructions tocause the first simulated instance of the robot to perform the firstreusable work primitive at 722 produces a result that is deficient insome way (e.g., the first reusable work primitive is performed tooslowly, with insufficient accuracy or precision, too quickly, withexcessive accuracy or precision, or inconsistently with an expectedoutcome), then the instructions may be refined at 723 and then repeated(i.e., for a second iteration) at 722 to confirm that a more desirableresult is achieved.

In some implementations, method 700 may be continued for any number ofadditional reusable work primitives in the library or reusable workprimitives. Sub-acts 722 and 723 may be repeated for each reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives. For example,additional processor-executable instructions may be repeatedly executed(i.e., at 722) to cause the first simulated instance of the robot toperform at least one additional reusable work primitive in the libraryof reusable work primitives, and the processor-executable instructionsthat cause the first simulated instance of the robot to perform the atleast one additional reusable work primitive may be refined (i.e., at723) based on at least one result of repeatedly executing theprocessor-executable instructions to cause the first simulated instanceof the robot to perform the at least one additional reusable workprimitive.

In accordance with the present systems, methods, and devices, training arobot to autonomously perform a reusable work primitive may be done inthe real physical world using a real physical robot, or it may be donein a simulated world using a simulated instance of the robot. In eithercase, the same, or substantially similar, processor-executableinstructions may be used to control or govern the actions of thereal/simulated robot. An advantage of training a simulated instance ofthe robot in a simulated environment (as opposed to training a realphysical robot in a real physical environment) is that doing so does notimpose any wear and tear on the physical hardware of the real physicalrobot. As described above, the training process may involve causing therobot to repeatedly perform the reusable work primitive being trained,which can cause significant wear and tear on the robot hardware andreduce the functional lifespan of the robot before it is even able to bedeployed to complete meaningful work. Furthermore, in the early stagesof training, a robot may be so inept at performing a reusable workprimitive that its early attempts at doing so could cause damage toitself or its surroundings. For example, the robot could cause itself tofall over or collide with objects in its environment. Training asimulated instance of the robot in a simulated environment avoids suchrisks to the real physical robot.

A further advantage of training a simulated instance of the robot in asimulated environment is that the training process may be accelerated byparallelization. In some implementations, any number of additionalsimulated instances of the robot may be generated in the simulatedenvironment and trained in parallel alongside the first simulatedinstance of the robot. For example, some implementations of method 700may further include generating at least one additional simulatedinstance of the robot in the simulated environment and repeatedlyexecuting processor-executable instructions to cause the at least oneadditional simulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusablework primitive in the library of reusable work primitives alongside orin parallel with (or independently from) the first simulated instance ofthe robot. The processor-executable instructions that cause both thefirst simulated instance of the robot and the at least one additionalsimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive may be refined based on at least one result of repeatedlyexecuting the processor-executable instructions to cause the firstsimulated instance of the robot and the at least one additionalsimulated instance of the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive. In some implementations, a single, common instance ofprocessor-executable instructions may be executed by both/all simulatedinstances of the robot and refined based on the results across allsimulated instances of the robot (e.g., each simulated instance of therobot may be operated to perform the same reusable work primitive withsome controlled variation, such as to each grasp a respective differentobject); in other implementations, each simulated instance of the robotmay execute a respective instance of the processor-executableinstructions and each respective instance of the processor-executableinstructions may be refined based on the results achieved with thecorresponding simulated instance of the robot. In this latter scenario,the respective instances of processor-executable instructions may becompared after the refinement process and a global optimum instance ofprocessor-executable instructions may be selected.

Training in simulation has the further advantage that it may be donecontinuously and without interruption for extended periods of time(i.e., without pauses or rests).

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram showing an exemplary simulatedenvironment 800 in which a robot is trained through simulation toperform a reusable work primitive in accordance with the presentsystems, methods, and devices. Simulated environment 800 includes asimple space having a flat ground 801 and is not based on any real-worldspace. Multiple simulated instances of a real-world robot are present insimulated environment 800, with only an exemplary first simulatedinstance 810 called out in FIG. 8 to reduce clutter. Each simulatedinstance of the robot 810 is repeatedly performing a particular reusablegrasp primitive in order to grasp a respective object 820 (only oneexemplary object 820 is called out in FIG. 8 to reduce clutter). Inaccordance with the present systems, methods, and devices, the simulatedinstances of the robot 810 are each training to autonomously perform areusable work primitive and not a complete workflow, and parallelizingsuch training over multiple simulated instances can vastly expedite thetraining process compared to doing so with real physical robot hardwarewhile at the same time mitigate any damages or wear and tear onreal-world physical components or objects. Depending on the quality ofthe simulation, the same or substantially similar processor-executableinstructions used to control the operation of the simulated instances ofthe robot 810 and trained to optimize autonomous performance of thereusable work primitive(s) may be ported from the simulation and loadedin the real physical robot. In other words, provided that the simulatedinstances of the robot 810 and the simulated environment 800 aresufficiently representative of the real-world physical analogues, thesame or substantially similar processor-executable instructionsdeveloped through training simulated instances 810 in simulatedenvironment 800 may be deployed in real physical robots in the realphysical world to enable such real physical robots to autonomouslyperform reusable work primitives.

The training processes described herein employ processor-executableinstructions that, when executed, cause the robot, or any number ofsimulated instances of the robot, to perform a reusable work primitive.In accordance with the present systems, methods, and devices, suchprocessor-executable instructions may originate from and/or be generatedby a teleoperation system.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary computer-implementedmethod 900 of initializing a robot to complete a multitude of workobjectives in accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods.Method 900 includes two main acts 601 and 602, and act 602 includesthree sub-acts 921, 922, and 923, though those of skill in the art willappreciate that in alternative implementations certain acts/sub-acts maybe omitted and/or additional acts/sub-acts may be added. Those of skillin the art will also appreciate that the illustrated order of theacts/sub-acts is shown for exemplary purposes only and may change inalternative implementations. Acts 601 and 602 of method 900 aresubstantially similar to acts 602 and 602 of method 600. Method 900 is acomputer-implemented method that may be performed by one or morecomputer system(s) comprising conventional computing hardware such as atleast one processor communicatively coupled with at least onenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium and various otherwell-known components such as a system bus, input/output peripherals,networking hardware, and so on, as well as conventional software andfirmware stored in the non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumsuch as BIOS, various drivers, an operating system, and the like. Inaccordance with the present systems, methods, and devices, the at leastone non-transitory processor-readable storage medium may also store dataand/or processor-executable instructions (e.g., a computer programproduct) that, when executed by the at least one processorcommunicatively coupled to the at least one non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium, cause the computer system to performcomputer-implemented method 900.

At 601, a library of reusable work primitives is defined in a similar toway to as described in the details of method 600.

At 602, the robot is trained to autonomously perform each reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives in a similar way toas described in the details of method 600; however, in method 900 act602 includes sub-acts 921, 922, and 923. In some implementations ofmethod 900, act 602 may be performed using only one or more realphysical robot(s), whereas in other implementations of method 900 act602 may be performed using any number of simulated instances of a realphysical robot.

At 921, which is a part of training the robot at 602, teleoperationinstructions are received that cause the (simulated instance of the)robot to perform a first reusable work primitive in the library ofreusable work primitives. The teleoperation instructions may be receivedfrom a teleoperation system, further exemplary details of which aredescribed later on. When act 602 is performed using a real physicalrobot, the teleoperation instructions may be received by the realphysical robot at 921. When act 602 is performed using any number ofsimulated instances of the real physical robot, the teleoperationinstructions may be received by the computer system running thesimulation at 921.

At 922, which is a part of training the robot at 602, the teleoperationinstructions are executed to cause the (simulated instance of the) robotto perform the first reusable work primitive. When act 602 is performedusing a real physical robot, the teleoperation instructions may beexecuted by the real physical robot at 922. When act 602 is performedusing any number of simulated instances of the real physical robot, theteleoperation instructions may be executed by the computer systemrunning the simulation at 922.

At 923, which is a part of training the robot at 602,processor-executable instructions are generated. Theprocessor-executable instructions cause the (simulated instance of the)robot to replay the teleoperation instructions that cause the (simulatedinstance of the) robot to perform the first reusable work primitive. Inother words, the processor-executable instructions may represent anexecutable copy of the teleoperation instructions that, when executed bythe (simulated instance of the) robot, cause the (simulated instance ofthe) robot to replay the teleoperation instructions and autonomouslyperform the first reusable work primitive without the teleoperationinstructions themselves (i.e., without receiving additionalteleoperation instructions providing the detail of how to perform thefirst reusable work primitive). When act 602 is performed using a realphysical robot, the processor-executable instructions generated at 923may be recalled or executed by the robot to autonomously perform thefirst reusable work primitive when needed. When act 602 is performedusing any number of simulated instances of the real physical robot, theprocessor-executable instructions may be delivered to or loaded into thereal physical robot (e.g., as a computer program product) and executedby the robot to cause the robot to perform the first reusable workprimitive when needed.

In accordance with the present systems, methods, and devices, sub-acts921, 922, and 923 of act 602 of method 900 may be repeated for eachrespective reusable work primitive in the library of reusable workprimitives.

In some implementations, the teleoperation instructions may include afirst set of teleoperation instructions that cause the (simulatedinstance of the) robot to perform a first instance of the first reusablework primitive in the library of reusable work primitives and a secondset of teleoperation instructions that cause the (simulated instance ofthe) robot to perform a second instance of the first reusable workprimitive in the library of reusable work primitives, where the firstset of teleoperation instructions and the second set of teleoperationinstructions differ from one another in some way such that the firstinstance of the first reusable work primitive and the second instance ofthe first reusable work primitive also differ in some way. Thedifference(s) between the first set of teleoperation instructions andthe second set of teleoperation instructions, and the resultingdifference(s) between the first instance of the first reusable workprimitive and the second instance of the first reusable work primitive,allow comparisons to be made and an advantageous formulation of theteleoperation instructions that cause the (simulated instance of the)robot to perform the first reusable work primitive to be identified andfurther developed. For example, in some implementations of method 900the respective results of executing the first set of teleoperationinstructions to cause the robot to perform the first instance of thefirst reusable work primitive and executing the second set ofteleoperation instructions to cause the robot to perform the secondinstance of the first reusable work primitive may be evaluated (e.g.,compared) to determine which of the first set of teleoperationinstructions and the second set of teleoperation instructions produces abetter result according to some measure of success. A “better result”may include a result that has fewer errors, is more accurate or precise,uses less power, is performed more quickly, is performed with greateraesthetic appeal, and/or is advantageous according to any other measureof success. When a particular set of teleoperation instructions thatproduces a better result is identified (i.e., among the first set andsecond sets of teleoperation instructions, and/or any other sets ofteleoperation instructions evaluated), the processor-executableinstructions generated at 923 may advantageously be designed to causethe (simulated instance of the) robot to replay whichever teleoperationinstructions produces the better result.

In some implementations of method 900, at least one element of a firstset of teleoperation instructions and at least one element of a secondset of teleoperation instructions may be combined in theprocessor-executable instructions generated at 923. That is, theprocessor-executable instructions generated at 923 may include acombination of advantageous elements of the first set of teleoperationinstructions and advantageous elements of the second set ofteleoperation instructions.

The teleoperation system, and therefore the teleoperation instructionsreceived from the teleoperation system, may take a variety of differentforms. In some implementations, the teleoperation system may includesensors that detect real physical actions performed by a real physicalentity (such as s human user) piloting the (simulated instance of the)robot and the teleoperation instructions may cause the (simulatedinstance of the) robot to emulate the real physical actions performed bysuch real teleoperation pilot. Teleoperation systems that cause the(simulated instance of the) robot to emulate real physical actionsperformed by a real teleoperation pilot are referred to herein as“low-level” teleoperation systems because of the low level ofabstraction between the actions of the pilot and the actions of the(simulated instance of the) robot. Accordingly, teleoperationinstructions provided by a low-level teleoperation system are referredto herein as “low-level” teleoperation instructions.

In some implementations, the teleoperation system may include agraphical user interface, or GUI, that presents a set of candidateactions to a user or pilot and the teleoperation instructions may causethe (simulated instance of the) robot to perform actions selected fromthe GUI. Such a GUI-based teleoperation system provides a higher levelof abstraction between the actions of the pilot and the actions of the(simulated instance of the) robot and are referred to herein as“high-level” teleoperation systems. Accordingly teleoperationinstructions provided by a high-level teleoperation system are referredto herein as “high-level” teleoperation systems.

In some implementations, a first set of low-level teleoperationinstructions that cause the (simulated instance of the) robot to performa first reusable work primitive may be used in an initial iteration of atraining process (e.g., method 600, method 700, and/or method 900) togenerate a first set of processor-executable that cause the (simulatedinstance of the) robot to autonomously perform the first reusable workprimitive, and a subsequent iteration of the training process may makeuse of high-level teleoperation instructions to further refine theprocessor-executable instructions that cause the (simulated instance ofthe) robot to autonomously perform the first reusable work primitive.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative diagram of an exemplary robot system 1000comprising various features and components described throughout thepresent systems, methods and devices. Robot system 1000 comprises arobot body 1001 with a first physically actuatable component 1002 a anda second physically actuatable component 1002 b mechanically coupled tobody 1001. In the illustrated implementation, first and secondphysically actuatable components 1002 a and 1002 b each correspond to arespective robotic hand, though a person of skill in the art willappreciate that in alternative implementations a physically actuatablecomponent may take on other forms (such as an arm or leg, anon-hand-like end effector such as a cutter or suction tube, or anyother form useful to the particular applications the robot is intendedto perform). Robotic hand 1002 a emulates a human hand and includesmultiple fingers 1021 a, 1022 a, 1023 a, and 1024 a and an opposablethumb 1025 a. Robotic hand 1002 b is similar to a mirror-image ofrobotic hand 1002 a while corresponding details are not labeled forrobotic hand 1002 b to reduce clutter. Robotic hands 1002 a and 1002 bmay be physically actuatable by a variety of different means, includingelectromechanical actuation, cable-driven actuation, magnetorheologicalfluid-based actuation, and/or hydraulic actuation. Some exemplarydetails of actuation technology that may be employed to physicallyactuate robotic hands 1002 a and 1002 b are described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/491,577 and U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 63/191,732, filed May 21, 2021 and entitled “Systems, Devices,And Methods For A Hydraulic Robotic Arm”, both of which are incorporatedby reference herein in their entirety.

Robot body 1001 further includes at least one sensor 1003 that detectsand/or collects data about the environment and/or objects in theenvironment of robot system 1000. In the illustrated implementation,sensor 1003 corresponds to a sensor system including a camera, amicrophone, and an initial measurement unit that itself comprises threeorthogonal accelerometers, a magnetometer, and a compass.

For the purposes of illustration, FIG. 10 includes details of certainexemplary components that are carried by or within robot body 1001 inaccordance with the present systems, methods, and devices. Suchcomponents include at least one processor 1030 and at least onenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium, or “memory”, 1040communicatively coupled to processor 1030. Memory 1040 stores a libraryof reusable work primitives 1041 (which may or may not include a libraryof reusable grasp primitives for either or both of robotic hands 1002 aand/or 1002 b depending on the implementation) and processor-executableinstructions 1042 that, when executed by processor 1030, cause robotbody 1001 (including applicable actuatable components such as either orboth of robotics hands 1002 a and/or 1002 b) to selectively andautonomously perform the reusable work primitives in library of reusablework primitives 1041. Depending on the specific implementation,processor-executable instructions 1042 may further includeprocessor-executable instructions (e.g., a computer program product)that cause robot system to perform any or all of methods 100, 200, 300,and/or 500 described herein, and/or relevant acts of methods 700 and/or900.

Processor 1030 is also communicatively coupled to a wireless transceiver1050 via which robot body 1001 sends and receives wireless communicationsignals 1060 with an exemplary teleoperation system 1070. To this end,teleoperation system 1070 also includes a wireless transceiver 1071.

For the purposes of illustration, teleoperation system 1070 includesboth a low-level teleoperation interface 1080 and a high-levelteleoperation interface 1090. Low-level teleoperation interface 1080includes a sensor system 1081 that detects real physical actionsperformed by a human pilot 1082 and a processing system 1083 thatconverts such real physical actions into low-level teleoperationinstructions that, when executed by processor 1030, cause robot body1001 (and any applicable actuatable components such as hands 1002 aand/or 1002 b) to emulate the physical actions performed by pilot 1082.In some implementations, sensor system 1081 may include many sensorycomponents typically employed in the field of virtual reality games,such as haptic gloves, accelerometer-based sensors worn on the body ofpilot 1082, and a VR headset that enables pilot 1082 to see optical datacollected by sensor 1003 of robot body 1001. High-level teleoperationinterface 1090 includes a simple GUI displayed, in this exemplaryimplementation, on a tablet computer. The GUI of high-levelteleoperation interface 1090 provides a set of buttons eachcorresponding to a respective action performable by robot body 1001 (andapplicable actuatable components such as hands 1002 a and/or 1002 b).Action(s) selected by a user/pilot of high-level teleoperation interface1090 through the GUI are converted into high-level teleoperationinstructions that, when executed by processor 1030, cause robot body1001 (and any applicable actuatable components such as hands 1002 aand/or 1002 b) to perform the selected action(s).

In accordance with the present systems, devices, and methods, amulti-purpose robot may be trained to autonomously execute a finitenumber of reusable work primitives in order to autonomously perform amultitude of tasks. Such a multi-purpose robot may include an on-boardnon-transitory processor-readable storage medium communicatively coupledto at least one on-board processor. The non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium may store data and/orprocessor-executable instructions, which may include a library ofreusable primitives that the robot is capable of performingautonomously. In operation, the at least one processor of the robot mayexecute data and/or processor-executable instructions to cause the robotto analyze a task and identify a particular sequence of work primitivesfrom the stored library of work primitives that, when carried out by therobot, will result in completion of the task's objective.

The robots described herein may, in some implementations, employ any ofthe teachings of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/940,566(Publication No. US 2021-0031383 A1), U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/023,929 (Publication No. US 2021-0090201 A1), U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/061,187 (Publication No. US 2021-0122035 A1), U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/098,716 (Publication No. US 2021-0146553 A1),U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/111,789 (Publication No. US2021-0170607 A1), U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/158,244(Publication No. US 2021-0234997 A1), U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 63/001,755 (Publication No. US 2021-0307170 A1),and/or U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/057,461, as wellas U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/151,044, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/173,670, U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 63/184,268, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 63/213,385, U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 63/232,694, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.63/253,591, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/293,968,U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/293,973, and/or U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/278,817, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims the term“communicative” as in “communicative coupling” and in variants such as“communicatively coupled,” is generally used to refer to any engineeredarrangement for transferring and/or exchanging information. For example,a communicative coupling may be achieved through a variety of differentmedia and/or forms of communicative pathways, including withoutlimitation: electrically conductive pathways (e.g., electricallyconductive wires, electrically conductive traces), magnetic pathways(e.g., magnetic media), wireless signal transfer (e.g., radio frequencyantennae), and/or optical pathways (e.g., optical fiber). Exemplarycommunicative couplings include, but are not limited to: electricalcouplings, magnetic couplings, radio frequency couplings, and/or opticalcouplings.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, infinitive verbforms are often used. Examples include, without limitation: “to encode,”“to provide,” “to store,” and the like. Unless the specific contextrequires otherwise, such infinitive verb forms are used in an open,inclusive sense, that is as “to, at least, encode,” “to, at least,provide,” “to, at least, store,” and so on.

This specification, including the drawings and the abstract, is notintended to be an exhaustive or limiting description of allimplementations and embodiments of the present systems, devices, andmethods. A person of skill in the art will appreciate that the variousdescriptions and drawings provided may be modified without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the disclosure. In particular, theteachings herein are not intended to be limited by or to theillustrative examples of computer systems and computing environmentsprovided.

This specification provides various implementations and embodiments inthe form of block diagrams, schematics, flowcharts, and examples. Aperson skilled in the art will understand that any function and/oroperation within such block diagrams, schematics, flowcharts, orexamples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a widerange of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, the variousembodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalentlyimplemented in one or more: application-specific integrated circuit(s)(i.e., ASICs); standard integrated circuit(s); computer program(s)executed by any number of computers (e.g., program(s) running on anynumber of computer systems); program(s) executed by any number ofcontrollers (e.g., microcontrollers); and/or program(s) executed by anynumber of processors (e.g., microprocessors, central processing units,graphical processing units), as well as in firmware, and in anycombination of the foregoing.

Throughout this specification and the appended claims, a “memory” or“storage medium” is a processor-readable medium that is an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, semiconductor, or otherphysical device or means that contains or stores processor data, dataobjects, logic, instructions, and/or programs. When data, data objects,logic, instructions, and/or programs are implemented as software andstored in a memory or storage medium, such can be stored in any suitableprocessor-readable medium for use by any suitable processor-relatedinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system thatcan fetch the data, data objects, logic, instructions, and/or programsfrom the memory or storage medium and perform various acts ormanipulations (i.e., processing steps) thereon and/or in responsethereto. Thus, a “non-transitory processor-readable storage medium” canbe any element that stores the data, data objects, logic, instructions,and/or programs for use by or in connection with the instructionexecution system, apparatus, and/or device. As specific non-limitingexamples, the processor-readable medium can be: a portable computerdiskette (magnetic, compact flash card, secure digital, or the like), arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), aportable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM), digital tape, and/or anyother non-transitory medium.

The claims of the disclosure are below. This disclosure is intended tosupport, enable, and illustrate the claims but is not intended to limitthe scope of the claims to any specific implementations or embodiments.In general, the claims should be construed to include all possibleimplementations and embodiments along with the full scope of equivalentsto which such claims are entitled.

1. A method of operation of a robot, wherein the robot includes at leastone processor and a non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumcommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor, thenon-transitory processor-readable storage medium storing a library ofreusable work primitives and processor-executable instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot toautonomously perform the reusable work primitives in the library ofreusable work primitives, the method comprising: initiating a first workobjective; initiating a first workflow to complete the first workobjective, the first workflow comprising a first set of reusable workprimitives selected from the library of reusable work primitives; andexecuting the first workflow, wherein executing the first workflowincludes executing the first set of reusable work primitives.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: initiating a second workobjective that is different from the first work objective; initiating asecond workflow to complete the second work objective, the secondworkflow comprising a second set of reusable work primitives selectedfrom the library of reusable work primitives, wherein the secondworkflow is different from the first workflow and at least one commonreusable work primitive is included in both the first workflow and thesecond workflow; and executing the second workflow, wherein executingthe second workflow includes executing the second set of reusable workprimitives.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: initiating atleast one additional work objective that is different from both thefirst work objective and the second work objective; initiating at leastone additional workflow to complete the at least one additional workobjective, the at least one additional workflow comprising at least oneadditional set of reusable work primitives selected from the library ofreusable work primitives, wherein the at least one additional workflowis different from both the first workflow and the second workflow, andwherein at least one common reusable work primitive is included in allof the first workflow, the second workflow, and the at least oneadditional workflow; and executing the at least one additional workflow,wherein executing the at least one additional workflow includesexecuting the at least one additional set of reusable work primitives.4. The method of claim 1 wherein the robot includes a telecommunicationinterface communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, andwherein initiating a first work objective includes receivinginstructions related to the first work objective via thetelecommunications interface.
 5. The method of claim 1 whereininitiating a first work objective includes autonomously identifying, bythe robot, the first work objective.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinthe robot includes a telecommunication interface communicatively coupledto the at least one processor, and wherein initiating a first workflowto complete the first work objective includes receiving the firstworkflow via the telecommunications interface.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein initiating a first workflow to complete the first work objectiveincludes autonomously identifying the first set of reusable workprimitives by the robot.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the robotincludes at least a first physically actuatable componentcommunicatively coupled to the at least one processor and the library ofreusable work primitives includes a set of reusable work primitivesperformable by the first physically actuatable component, and wherein;initiating a first workflow to complete the first work objectiveincludes initiating a first set of reusable work primitives thatincludes at least one reusable work primitive from the set of reusablework primitives performable by the first physically actuatablecomponent; and executing the first workflow includes executing, by thefirst physically actuatable component, the at least one reusable workprimitive from the set of reusable work primitives performable by thefirst physically actuatable component.
 9. The method of claim 8 whereinthe first physically actuatable component is operative to grasp objectsand the set of reusable work primitives performable by the firstphysically actuatable component includes a set of reusable graspprimitives performable by the first physically actuatable component, andwherein: initiating a first set of reusable work primitives thatincludes at least one reusable work primitive from the set of reusablework primitives performable by the first physically actuatable componentincludes initiating a first set of reusable work primitives thatincludes at least one reusable grasp primitive; and executing, by thefirst physically actuatable component, the at least one reusable workprimitive from the set of reusable work primitives performable by thefirst physically actuatable component includes executing, by the firstphysically actuatable component, the at least one reusable graspprimitive.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein initiating a first workflowto complete the first work objective includes initiating a firstpermutation of a first combination of reusable work primitives from thelibrary of reusable work primitives.
 11. The method of claim 1 whereinexecuting the first set of reusable work primitives includes executing,by the at least one processor, the processor-executable instructionsstored in the non-transitory processor-readable storage medium to causethe robot to autonomously perform the first set of reusable workprimitives.
 12. A robot comprising: a body; at least one physicallyactuatable component mechanically coupled to the body; at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the at least one physicallyactuatable component; and at least one non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor,the at least one non-transitory processor-readable storage mediumstoring a library of reusable work primitives and processor-executableinstructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause therobot to: initiate a first work objective; initiate a first workflow tocomplete the first work objective, the first workflow comprising a firstset of reusable work primitives selected from the library of reusablework primitives; and execute the first workflow, wherein executing thefirst workflow includes executing the first set of reusable workprimitives.
 13. The robot of claim 12 wherein the processor-executableinstructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further causethe robot to: initiate a second work objective that is different fromthe first work objective; initiate a second workflow to complete thesecond work objective, the second workflow comprising a second set ofreusable work primitives selected from the library of reusable workprimitives, wherein the second workflow is different from the firstworkflow and at least one common reusable work primitive is included inboth the first workflow and the second workflow; and execute the secondworkflow, wherein executing the second workflow includes executing thesecond set of reusable work primitives.
 14. The robot of claim 12,further comprising a telecommunication interface communicatively coupledto the at least one processor to receive at least one set ofinstructions from a group consisting of: instructions related to thefirst work objective and instructions related to the first workflow. 15.The robot of claim 12 wherein the non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium further stores processor-executable instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the robot toautonomously identify the first workflow to complete the first workobjective.
 16. The robot of claim 12 wherein the library of reusablework primitives includes a set of reusable work primitives performableby the at least one physically actuatable component, and wherein theprocessor-executable instructions that, when executed by the at leastone processor, cause the robot to execute the first set of reusable workprimitives, cause the at least one physically actuatable component toperform at least one reusable work primitive.
 17. The robot of claim 16wherein the at least one physically actuatable component includes an endeffector that is operative to grasp objects and the set of reusable workprimitives performable by the at least one physically actuatablecomponent includes a set of reusable grasp primitives performable by theend effector, and wherein the processor-executable instructions that,when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least onephysically actuatable component to perform at least one reusable workprimitive, cause the end effector to perform at least one graspprimitive.
 18. A computer program product comprising: a library ofreusable work primitives; and processor-executable instructions and/ordata that, when the computer program product is stored in anon-transitory processor-readable storage medium of a robot system andexecuted by at least one processor of the robot system, the at least oneprocessor communicatively coupled to the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium, cause the robot system to: initiate afirst work objective; initiate a first workflow to complete the firstwork objective, the first workflow comprising a first set of reusablework primitives selected from the library of reusable work primitives;and execute the first workflow, wherein executing the first workflowincludes executing the first set of reusable work primitives.
 19. Thecomputer program product of claim 18, further comprising:processor-executable instructions and/or data that, when the computerprogram product is stored in the non-transitory processor-readablestorage medium of the robot system and executed by at least oneprocessor of the robot system, cause the robot system to: initiate asecond work objective that is different from the first work objective;initiate a second workflow to complete the second work objective, thesecond workflow comprising a second set of reusable work primitivesselected from the library of reusable work primitives, wherein thesecond workflow is different from the first workflow and at least onecommon reusable work primitive is included in both the first workflowand the second workflow; and execute the second workflow, whereinexecuting the second workflow includes executing the second set ofreusable work primitives.
 20. The computer program product of claim 18,further comprising: processor-executable instructions and/or data that,when the computer program product is stored in the non-transitoryprocessor-readable storage medium of the robot system and executed by atleast one processor of the robot system, cause the robot system toautonomously identify the first workflow to complete the first workobjective.